Shark Tale: Lie Another Day
by ReesieReese
Summary: What would've happened if Oscar hadn't confessed that he wasn't a shark slayer? Crazy stuff happens, that's what... R
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Yeah! That's right! I gots another story! Anyway, as the summary says, haven't you ever wondered what it would be like if Oscar hadn't confessed his secret at the end? And now, a disclaimer._

_Disclaimer: I do not own 'Shark Tale', but I do know that a sequel might be coming out in fall of 2006; according to this website I've forgotten the name of…_

**Chapter One: He's Still the Shark Slayer**

_Lenny's POV_

I was trapped in a cleaning thing for whales. My pops was beside me in another cleaning thing; if he got out, he'd ice me for sure. He looked over in my direction and growled,

"When we get out of this, you're in trouble."

I was scared out of my wits. I'd seen him mad before at other sharks, and I definitely didn't want him mad at me. As I was about to say something, a crowd of fish began to surround the Whale Wash. I saw Katie Current push her way through the crowd, with two of her camera crew with her.

"We're live at the Whale Wash where famous shark slayer Oscar has captured two sharks." She said. She then went up to Oscar and literally shoved the microphone into his face. "Tell us how you did it."

Above the chanting of 'Oscar! Oscar!' I finally managed to say,

"Could ya' let me out? I've gotta get as far away from him as possible!"

"Look what you did to him!" My dad growled.

I saw Oscar look left, and followed his glance. He was looking at Angie, as she swam away.

"Wait! Hold up… Ang!" He called out, but she just kept swimming.

He'd have to tell the truth now. He wanted Angie back, and the only way he could regain her trust was by confessing. The moment Angie started to swim away, I waited for him to confess… but he didn't say anything. Suddenly, I started to wish that he hadn't lied in the first place.

_Angie's POV_

"Wait! Hold up… Ang!"

I heard Oscar calling for me, but I just kept swimming. He had all this fame now, all the fans he could ever imagine; he wouldn't confess. If he thought that he could just say sorry and move on, he was wrong. I can't believe I ever liked him. Everything that happened so far is his fault! If he hadn't claimed to have killed that shark then none of this would've happened! I wouldn't have gotten kidnapped by sharks and taken to that sit down. And poor Lenny…

He was brought into this whole thing. I can still remember when his dad found out that he was 'Sebastian the Whale Wash dolphin.' No wonder he said he couldn't go home, he felt like he had no home. At least he was happy for a while.

I'm mad at Oscar, but for some strange reason, I still have faith in him. That argument we had… it seemed to give him a reality check, and he did break up with Lola. He's a very good person when he's not being a liar… you know what, he will confess!... or at least I hope so.

_Oscar's POV_

"Wait! Hold up… Ang!" I called out, but she ignored me. Even though I was teased before, I had never gotten the cold shoulder.

But she does have a reason to mad. I had lied to her; I lied to everyone. But that shouldn't matter! I lie to everyone! But that should be no reason. She always stood behind me, trusted me, punched my card in when I was late for work. She was my friend. If I wanted her back, I'd have to confess.

But… I knew that if I confessed, I'd lose everything I got so far. My life would go back to tongue scrubbing at the Whale Wash; no more appearances on Okra, (Oprah fishified) no more living in a 'deluxe apartment in the sky.' Back to the same old life I had before. I like Angie and all, but… I don't think I'm ready to go back to my old life. Angie will understand… right?

_Angie's POV _

"Well, first I had to decide on what levers to push." Oscar told Katie. "Y'know, I wouldn't want to pull the wrong levers, being chased by a shark and all."

I couldn't believe him! After everything that's happened, after knowing that Lenny, Sykes, and I know his secret, he still lies! Tears began to form in my eyes. Even after I said that I liked him, he still kept that 'Shark Slayer' stuff up! I looked at Mr. Sykes and didn't see a trace of disappointment on him! He actually looked happy! I felt like I wanted to scream when I saw him go over, put a fin around Oscar's shoulder, and say,

"That's right, and I helped him with his plan."

After he said that, I glanced over at Lenny. By the expression on his face, he must've been expecting Oscar to confess too. Though I had only known him for a few days, I knew that he was the type who was cheerful. The only time I had ever seen him with a hurt look on his face like that before was when his dad was talking to him at the sit-down. He looked over at me and I saw tears forming in his eyes, though he was trying hard to hold them back.

I couldn't stay at the Whale Wash anymore; it was just making me sad. Tears were streaming down my face as I left the scene. I wasn't going to tell Oscar's secret, but I don't know about Lenny. I do know one thing though; after what he did, neither one of us will forgive him.

_Lenny's POV_

I couldn't believe he said that! Especially after what happened between him and Angie. The scene with Sykes didn't help either; he just went along with it. I looked over at my pops, still struggling to get out his trap, and then looked over in Angie's direction. She was getting ready cry, just like I was. I tried hard to fight back the tears though. At that time, my attention was focused on Oscar, the story weaver. Twenty seconds into his lie, I couldn't listen anymore. I looked towards where Angie was, but didn't see her.

'_She must've left.' _I thought. _'She couldn't take it anymore.'_

Suddenly, without warning, my feeling changed from sad to anger. Then my anger turned to fury. I had never been angry before in my life, so when the rage disappeared, I was confused. I knew why I was angry, but why did I get that angry?

_Lino's POV_

That annoying trap I was in was driving me crazy. But I couldn't get out; even if I could get out, what would I do? This shark slayer character would probably slay me if I put a fin out of place. And Lenny… It's Lenny's fault I'm into this whole mess. If he hadn't teamed up with the shark slayer, I wouldn't be trapped right now. I looked over at Lenny to glare at him, but stopped when I saw the look on his face. He looked angry; _REALLY _angry. The first thing that came into my mind was _'Serves him right for betraying me' _but when I realized that Lenny doesn't get mad, I thought, _'The shark slayer must've betrayed him somehow.' _

Next thing I knew, Katie Current was saying,

"So, what're you gonna do with these two?"

Oscar answered, "Well, I'm letting this one out first, or the other one'll probably kill him or something. I have to be nice."

I didn't really care anymore after that. All I did was glare at Lenny and mouth, "You're not comin' back home."

Oy, how am I supposed to explain all this to the boys back home…

_Oscar's POV_

I swam over to the lever to let Lenny out. After his 'trap' was removed, all the fish in the area seemed wary. I went up to Lenny and said,

"And don't ever come back."

After I said that, Lenny gave me the coldest look imaginable. As he swam away, I felt sorry for the guy. He couldn't go back home, and it was my fault he couldn't. I let Lino out of his trap, expecting him to attack me any second, but he didn't. He just gave me a slightly cold look and swam away. I looked around for Angie, but she wasn't there. I realized that I had broke her heart, again,

As tons of fish came towards me to congratulate me and ask for autographs, only one thought flowed through my mind.

'_I'm sorry Ang.' _

_Lenny's POV_

I swam westward, feeling depressed. Where I was going; I don't know. I couldn't go home, that's for sure. It was Oscar's fault I was banished from my own home! I hated him so much. It would've been so much easier if he had only confessed. He broke one of his friend's heart while making the other one's heart bitter. As I stopped to look out at the west horizon, I thought,

'_Where am I supposed to go now?'_

I just kept swimming, hoping everything would turn out fine.

_TBC…_

_So, what do you think? I really need help on a title for this story. Please review, and feel free to give suggestions! _


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Thanx to all those who reviewed! And now… for some recognition!_

**Lav'O'Dolphin: Hey, aren't you Scott? Anyway, thanks for reviewing! I know where I'm going to go with this, and this story will probably be very, very dark. Just a warning, some of the chappies I type will REALLY make ya'll mad.**

**The Crouching Tiger Shark: You're right! Where is Lenny gonna go? Ahhh… oh, wait a minute… I know where he's gonna go… but you don't… MWAHAHAHA (Chokes) Oww, my throat. **

**Insane Pirate Dragon: Yep, this sure is gonna be interesting… and harsh in later chapters… VERY harsh. **

**Special Thanks! Special thanks to The Crouching Tiger Shark who let me use his/her (I don't know) character, Rueben! Wooh! **

**Chapter Two: Out of A Job**

Don Lino swam back to the cruise ship (A.K.A. the love boat) in shame. To his surprise, Luca was waiting outside the door for him.

"'Ey boss, what'chu want me to do?" Luca asked.

Lino stared at Luca for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh and answering, "Go tell the boys that we're out of a job."

"Oscar! Oscar!"

Oscar turned around and saw his best friend Rueben swimming after him.

"Hey Rueben. What's up?" Oscar said, smiling at his friend.

"Oh, you know; the sky, clouds, fish-eating birds… AND MY HIGH SCORE ON THE SHARK SLAYA' GAME!" Rueben answered.

Oscar sighed. "You're never gonna let me forget that are ya'?" He asked.

"Nope!" Rueben said. "Let's face it big O, when it comes to real sharks, you're da man, but when it comes to the video game, you get your tail fin whupped over, and over… and over…"

"All right, all right!" Oscar said, throwing his fins in the air. "I get it. I won't gloat about my famous life anymore."

"Thank you." Rueben said with a smile. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to get to work. Those whales aren't gonna clean themselves ya' know… they're too lazy."

Oscar chuckled at his friend's joke. "Yeah…" Then he seemed to realize something. The Whale Wash was where Angie worked… where he had lied to everybody, made Lenny mad, and where if he ever returned there, Angie would probably kill him.

'_I have to apologize to Ang before she gets angrier.' _He thought.

"Hey Rube?" Oscar called out. "I think I'll tag along, ya' know, to see Ang."

After he had said that, Rueben's face took on a sad look. "Oscar…"

"What?" Oscar asked. "Is she still saying that corny Whale Wash phrase? Don't worry, you'll get used to hearin' it…"

"No." Rueben struggled to say. "It's not that. You see… Ang… well, she's…"

"She's what?" Oscar asked, with panic coming into his tone. "What happened to Ang, Rueben?"

"Well, it's like this…" Rueben said, "Oscar I'm sorry, but… Angie doesn't work at the Whale Wash anymore."

"What?" Oscar nearly shouted. "Don't joke like that man!"

"I'm not joking! I may've joked about things before, like saying that Ang was sick, saying that you were gonna be fired, saying that your pet snail died…" Rueben then realized how he was making Oscar believe him less and less. "Okay, so those are really bad examples, but I swear that I'm telling the truth this time! She quit two days ago man."

"Aww, man." Oscar said to himself before dashing off in the direction of the Whale Wash.

It was a busy day at the Whale Wash. A phone rang in the phone room, (I don't know what its called.) and someone picked it up. It wasn't Angie, she quit, so Sykes had to replace her, and he wasn't very happy with the replacements.

"Sykes Whale Wash, the prices are low, and the business… it's very, very slow mon."

"Gimme that phone!" Ernie said in an annoyed tone as he snatched the phone away from his brother. (I think they're brothers, but I don't really know.) "Sykes Whale Wash, you get a wash for the whales and then you go home, after you pay us of course, 'cause we already aren't getting paid enough… hello?"

The whale on the other side of the phone had hung up on Ernie.

"Ernie! You made da guy hang up on ya'!" Bernie shouted. "Sykes is gonna have your gills if he finds out!"

"Well I don't see you doing any better!" Ernie said, scowling. "Besides, what Sykes don't know won't hurt him."

"What doesn't Sykes know?" A voice said from behind the two.

Ernie and Bernie jumped out of their seats and hid under the table.

"We're sorry mon!" Bernie shouted, covering his head and wringing in his fins. "Don't fire us! If you're gonna fire someone, fire Ernie! He's the one who made the whale guy hang up!"

"Hey mon!" Ernie protested. "That's uncalled for!"

Bernie just shrugged and said, "It's not uncalled for I want to keep my job."

Just as Ernie was about to say something back, the two heard a chuckle coming from behind them.

"Get from under the table guys."

Ernie and Bernie peeked from under the table. They looked up and saw two cleaner fish staring at them with amused faces and eyebrows raised.

"Oh, it's you Osca'!" Ernie said in relief. "We thought it was Sykes."

"But instead it's just you and Rueben over there." Bernie added.

"Well you know what guys?" Rueben said. "Don't worry… about a thing. 'Cause every little thing's… gonna be all right… OWWW!"

Rueben's singing resulted in two hard sting slaps from Ernie and Bernie.

"Why does everyone gotta sing that song mon?" Ernie asked aloud. "What is it with us and people singing that song? Leave Bob Marley and his song alone!"

"But you should try out for Reef City Idol mon." Bernie said.

"Really?" Rueben asked with brightened eyes.

"No." Bernie said. "Not unless you want that Simon guy to humiliate you in front of millions of sea creatures."

Rueben frowned. "You know, that comment made me feel sad and discouraged."

Oscar sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, Ernie, Bernie?"

"Yeah?" The two bros said in perfect unison.

"I need a favor." Oscar said.

"Well what is it mon?" Ernie said. "The suspense is killin' me!"

"I need you to tell me where Angie is."

"Oh." Was all that Ernie and Bernie could say.

"What d'you mean 'oh?'" Oscar asked.

"Well mon, it's like this…" Bernie said, seeming to be uneasy around the subject, "Angie is moving out the city."

"What?" Oscar shouted so loud that the other workers paused to look at him. He then glanced at Rueben. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Uh…" Rueben answered with a nervous smile and a shrug, "I forgot?"

Oscar sighed and turned back to Ernie and Bernie. "When is she moving out?"

"It takes two months to get on the waiting list because she's moving so far away." Bernie answered. "And it takes another four months to move to where she's going."

"So that's six months!" Rueben said a bit too enthusiastically.

"Yeah, that's because two plus four is six." Oscar said sarcastically. "You're so smart, now can you tell me what two plus two is?"

"Don't you know Oscar?" Rueben asked in confusion, oblivious to the fact that Oscar was being sarcastic. "It's four."

That earned some weird looks from Oscar, Ernie, and Bernie, and Rueben just stared at them and said, "What?"

Oscar stared at Rueben for a few more seconds before continuing. "Anyway… I've gotta go see if I can talk Ang out of moving out!" He then dashed off in the direction of Angie's apartment.

"That's right big O!" Rueben shouted after him. "Go get your girl!"

"I betcha that Angie won't listen to him." Ernie said to Rueben.

"Why?" Rueben asked.

"Because mon, from what I've heard, it's Oscar's fault that she's moving out." Ernie said with a smirk.

"I don't believe you man." Rueben said. "How much you wanna bet?"

"Five dollars." Ernie said. "I'm kind of low on cash right now."

"That's all right." Rueben said. "I'll be looking forward to getting your five dollars, but for now, I've gotta do my job. There's a graffiti covered whale with my name on it!" Rueben then swam off to do his job.

It was twilight. The sun was going down, creating a beautiful sunset, but Lenny didn't notice. He was too busy trying to find a place to stay.

'_Where the heck am I supposed to live?' _Lenny thought. _'I can't go back home, and there's nobody here that I know. Maybe I should ask for help…' _He paused as he saw a nearby reef in front of him. He knew that the city was all carnivorous, so he wouldn't have to worry about terrified fish.

'_Maybe I could ask for help there.' _Lenny thought, getting excited. _'Then I might be able to get a job and find a home!' _

So, with encouraging thoughts in his mind, Lenny went into the city, not knowing that there was trouble waiting for him…

_TBC…_

_So, how was it? Did you like it? Suggestions and flames are welcome; I need the flames to light the grill, though I'm not allowed to use it. So that's the end of the chapter. R&R pretty please!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: I'm back! Okay, so as you all know, Angie's quit her job and Lenny has no home. What's going to happen now? You'll find put. This is where things REALLY start to get interestin'! _

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Thanx for the tip! I'll try to find some way to space between the scenes. I didn't think anyone would care about how I switched POV's. Thanx man. **

**The Crouching Tiger Shark- …And for one year now… I've thought that you were some fifteen year old boy with spiky hair… scary. Anyway, thanx for reviewing! Lenny might be okay, but then again, he might not be. Who knows? I've never heard 'Vienna' but I Iooked up the lyrics. It's a nice song.**

**Insane Pirate Dragon- One can't help but feel sorry for Lenny and Angie. And as for what Lenny's gonna do in the new reef, you'll find out in this chapter… or will you?**

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Three: Visits and Clubs**

Night had fallen over Reef City. Little ones were getting ready for bed, while Oscar was just about to knock on Angie's door.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Oscar knocked on Angie's door and watched as the door swung open.

"Who is it…?" Angie began in a cheerful tone. Her face changed as she saw Oscar standing in the doorway.

"Hey Ang." Oscar said with a nervous smile.

"Oh." Angie said with a slightly mad look. "It's you. Look, I really don't want to hear anything…" She began to close the door.

"Wait, Ang!" Oscar said, as he caught the door and went inside her apartment. "I've got to tell you something."

"I don't wanna hear it Oscar." Angie said in a cold tone. "Now get out my apartment."

"But…" Oscar said, "Why Ang? Why are you moving out the city?"

"Why? WHY?" Angie near shouted. "You lie to millions of fish, make it look like you actually cared about me, break my heart, make Lenny hate you, and have the _nerve_ to ask me why?"

"But Ang," Oscar said, "What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I don't know," Angie replied, "Here's a thought. Maybe you could've told the truth!"

"But everyone would know that I was a fraud!" Oscar said.

"You're still a fraud to me." Angie replied frostily.

"But that doesn't count!" Oscar blurted out. "You're not everybody…" Right away, Oscar knew he had said something wrong. He wanted to go back in time and make sure he never said that.

"_Doesn't count?_" Angie asked. "Oh, so now I don't matter anymore, is that it? Now that you've got your fame, friends don't matter anymore, is that it?"

"No! That's not true…" Oscar struggled to say. "Look, you mean the world to me Ang, but…"

"But I'm not good enough for you to give up your lie?" Angie finished.

Oscar couldn't say anything. There was no right answer to Angie's question.

"Get out of my apartment Oscar." Angie said.

"But Ang!" Oscar said. "If I hadn't kept my lie I would've…"

_SLAP!_

Oscar stood holding his cheek, stunned.

"Stop all your excuses Oscar!" Angie shouted, angry tears rolling down her face. "I've heard them all before! You had a good life Oscar! Everything you've ever had was right in front of your face! Now it's gone Oscar, and it's your entire fault! You don't even care about everything that really matters, and everyone who cares about you! Look at what you've done! You've made two of your friend's lives miserable! Because of you, I have to move out of my house, and Lenny can never go back home! You think that all your fame and fortune can solve all your problems, well you're wrong! You're pathetic Oscar."

Angie's words had stung Oscar like a million bees. Still clutching his cheek, Oscar went out the door.

_Scene Change_

Oscar swam back to his deluxe apartment. Though his cheek didn't hurt as much anymore, the memory made it sting.

'_Everything Ang said was true.' _He thought. _'I'm the reason she's moving out. She quit her job because of me.'_

He swam into his apartment in complete silence. Then, he remembered something else.

'_Lenny!' _He thought. _'Lenny has no home! Where's he gonna go? Everybody know that he's a vegetarian! He's not even a born fighter, he's a softie! How's he gonna make it out there?' _

Oscar sighed and rubbed his head in frustration. "I'm thinking WAY too much. I'm going to bed." He said.

He knew that everything Angie said was true, he knew that because of him Lenny could be lying in a ditch somewhere, he _knew_ that he should tell the truth, but something in him refused to listen.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam into the city, looking around in awe.

'_It's so big.' _He thought. _'It's almost bigger than back home! But I can't think about that now, I've gotta find someplace to stay…'_

Just as he finished thinking that, he looked left and saw blinking lights in the distance that said,

'_The Trench'_

'_Hmm.' _Thought Lenny. _'Must be a night club. Maybe I could ask for help there.'_

Lenny swam over to the club and his fin reached out for the door handle, but a barracuda's fin stopped him.

"Hold on there Eager McBeaver." The barracuda's deep voice said. "Where d'you think you're going?"

"In the club." Lenny answered.

"Not without a club pass you aren't." The barracuda said. "So, where is it?"

"Umm… I have no club pass." Lenny admitted.

"Tough luck kid." The barracuda said.

"But, I have to get in there!" Lenny said. "Could you please just let it slide this once?"

"Sorry buddy," The barracuda said, "But I can't let you in there. It's my job to keep out people without passes."

Just as Lenny was about to give up, a voice came from behind him

"Hey, Barry!"

A Leopard shark swam up to the barracuda and began high-fiving him.

"Jamel!" Barry (the barracuda) greeted back. "How's it goin'?"

"Fine just fine." Jamel answered with a smile. "I couldn't help but notice what was going on here. Why won't you let him in?"

"The guy doesn't have a club pass." Barry answered.

"Oh, didn't he tell you?" Jamel said. "He doesn't need one, he's with me."

"Oh!" Barry said, looking at Lenny. "Well why didn't you tell me? I would've let you in if you had spoken up." Barry opened the door. "Come on in."

"Thanks Barry." Jamel said, swimming into the club. He stopped when he saw that Lenny wasn't following. "Well come on!"

Lenny obeyed and swam into the club too. Even though he was confused about what happened, he wasn't going to argue.

The club was like your average night club. It had a bar, some bathrooms, and a disco dance floor. A few feet away from the dance floor was a stage where the owner of the club would sometimes get bands to play.

"Hey, wait up!" Lenny called out to Jamel.

Jamel stopped and turned around. "Oh, it's you."

"Thanks." Lenny said.

"For what?" Jamel asked.

"For helpin' me out back there." Lenny said. "I would've never been able to get in without your help."

Jamel chuckled. "No problem man, I do that for just about everyone. So, what's your name?" He said, holding out his fin.

"Lenny." Lenny answered, shaking his fin.

"My name's Jamel." Jamel said. He suddenly realized something. "Hey… aren't you that don guy's kid?"

Lenny's smile turned into a frown. "Yeah."

"Cool!" Jamel said. "So what're you doin' here?"

Lenny was about to answer until Jamel said, "Okay, you can tell your story, but you've gotta tell it over some drinks. The bar's right there, c'mon!"

After ordering two electric berry freezers, Lenny began to tell his story.

"Well, my pop's out of a job." Lenny said. "Os… I mean, that Shark Slayer guy captured my dad and I, and my dad was so mad at me he kicked me out the house."

"Harsh." Jamel said, nodding his head.

"So after that, I began looking for a place to stay. I needed some help, so I came here to ask for directions, and here I am." He finished, not really telling the whole truth.

"Dang." Jamel said. "You must be hungry. Here, have some fried tuna." Jamel called on the bar guy, got a dish of fried tuna, and paid the bar guy.

Lenny just looked at the plate of fried fish before him. "Umm…Jamel…"

"What?" Jamel said. "If this is about how I got you a fried tuna, it's just 'cause I'm being nice…"

"No, it's not that." Lenny said. "It's… well… because…" Lenny looked around for the right words to say. "I can't eat this." Lenny finally blurted out.

"Huh?" Jamel said in confusion. "Why not?"

"You'll laugh." Lenny said.

"No I won't." Jamel said.

"Yeah, you say you won't, but then what happens is, you laugh." Lenny replied.

"Lenny, I've heard a million funny stories," Jamel replied, "And I've managed to not crack a smile. What makes you think I'll laugh at what you've got to say? Now c'mon, tell me."

"Fine." Lenny sighed. "I- I'm a vegetarian."

Jamel sat in his chair, thunderstruck. He looked sincere, but then started to bust out laughing.

Lenny's face turned into a frown. "Well at least you're laughing and not calling me a wimp." He muttered.

"Oh, okay," Jamel said, still laughing. "I'm sorry man, I really am."

"You sure don't sound like it." Lenny said, crossing his fins.

"Well I am sorry, I'm just…" Jamel looked for the right words to say, but couldn't find them. "Okay, look, I've stopped laughing. I shouldn't even be laughing at you, with you being kicked out of your house and all."

Lenny's mood changed quickly. "Stupid Oscar and his stupidness." He growled, not noticing what he was doing. Jamel, however, noticed.

"Uh, Lenny…"

"Made me get kicked out of my house, all because of his stupid lie!"

"Lenny…"

"He better stay out of my sight, because if I ever see him again, I'm gonna…"

"Lenny!"

Lenny looked at Jamel. "What?"

"I thought you said you were a vegetarian." Jamel said.

"I am." Lenny said with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well, you just…" Jamel looked at Lenny's plate. "Look at your plate man."

Lenny looked down at his plate, and saw that the fried tuna was gone; nothing remained but a pile of bones. "Wha…"

"You ate the fish man." Jamel said. "And you freaked me out while you were eating it. Heck man, you looked worse than when Bruce lost control in 'Finding Nemo', you looked extremely angry and blood thirsty!"

"Oh." Lenny said, still trying to grasp the fact that he had eaten a fish and not thrown it up. "Well, I _am_ a vegetarian, or at least I used to be. I'm surprised that I didn't throw it up. I must be omnivorous now."

Jamel didn't answer, only looked at Lenny like he was going to go off any second on him. Lenny noticed this look, and quickly added,

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm not gonna go off on ya, if that's what you're thinkin'."

Jamel let out a sigh of relief. "Well that's a relief. So, you said you needed a place to stay…"

Jamel was cut off by a White tip's sneering voice.

"Hey Melly!"

"Speak of the devil." Jamel muttered.

A White tip had swum up to Jamel and Lenny. "Nice to see you again. So, you bribed the club owner again, or are you just dating his daughter?"

"No, I didn't bribe the club owner, I did him a favor, and now I can get in without a club pass."

"Must've been a really big favor." The white tip sneered. "So," he continued, looking at Lenny, "Who's this? Your boyfriend?"

"I'm not his boyfriend." Lenny growled. "I'm Lenny." He didn't like this guy and he had just met him.

"Hey, aren't you that don's kid?" The White tip asked in his taunting voice.

"Naw, I'm that pizza delivery guy's nephew." Lenny said in a sarcastic tone. "Got anymore smart questions for me, huh Einstein?"

'_Where did that come from?' _Jamel thought. Lenny was thinking the same thing.

"I bet you wish you were that pizza guy's nephew, the way your dad wimped out like that." The White tip sneered.

"Leave him alone Markie…" Another White tip said.

"Shut up!" Markie (The white tip that's bothering Lenny.) shot back at the other White tip. "So," he continued, looking at Lenny, "Is it true your dad got whupped by a fish?"

"No." Lenny said, struggling to control his anger.

"Pitiful, can't even tell the truth." Markie mocked. "You probably got beat to, and you know your dad's a failure…"

At this point, Lenny had had enough. In a flash, he rose up from his chair, punched Markie in his eye, and pinned him up against the wall, earning surprised shocks from other carnivores in the club.

"He's not a failure! He's not!" Lenny shouted, still punching Markie. "Don't you ever call him that again…"

Before he knew it, Lenny felt a pain in his side and chest, and everything had begun to go black. Man, what was he going to do now?

_TBC…_

_Gasp! Angie slapped Oscar? Lenny's not a vegetarian anymore? How will Oscar talk Angie out of moving? And Lenny, what's gonna happen to him? _

_Well, I can't just leave ya'll clueless, so I'll type in a line from my next chapter. Here it is…_

"**Hello. My face is up here."**

_That's it. From the line above, let's just put it this way, I might have to put romance as the third genre. _

_That's it! R&R please! _


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Gasp! Back to back chappies! And it's almost back-to-school… nooo! Oh yeah, and my goal is to get 100 reviews… or just really long ones._

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Yeah, Oscar sure did deserve that slap. He is going to be like Michael… innocent at first, and a killer at the end… but he's not going to be that much of a killer. He's still going to be a little innocent, but kind of blood thirsty when he gets mad. And as for the '11 year old comment', thanx. And, there might be a happy ending, but then again, there might not be. Things are gonna have to get worse for the characters before they get any better.**

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Thanx for thinking this is interesting. Lenny has gone native and it is VERY scary… per'aps he might be a bouncer, but I had something else in mind…**

_That's it everybody. In this chapter, we'll mainly be focusing on Lenny, though this chapter will have some Oscar in it, and we'll be introducing a new character… ooh, I see a spark…._

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Four: Ronnie**

Lenny woke up, not knowing where he was. His eyesight was still blurry, and his head felt like a million construction workers were pounding in his brain. Grasping his head, Lenny's eyesight began to come into focus. Glancing around, he saw that he was lying in a bed, and he noticed bandages around his head.

"Ugh." He groaned. "Where am I…?"

As soon as he said that, he turned his head and saw… a chest?

Lenny didn't look up, nor did he turn his eyes away and blush, he just stared at the chest.

"Hello. My face is up here."

Lenny looked up to see a female Great White shark staring down at him.

"Hasn't anybody told you to look at someone's face when they're talking to you, instead of staring at other things?" The female shark said.

Lenny blushed, but didn't say anything. He just stared at the other shark's face.

"Cat fish got your tongue?" The shark asked.

"Oh!" Lenny said, realizing that he had been staring again. "Umm, sorry miss, I didn't mean to stare, it's just that I didn't see your face up there, and I didn't want to look up…"

Noticing the expression on the female shark's face, Lenny realized what he had said.

"It's not that I didn't want to look up! I was just daydreaming…" Lenny realized what he was saying again. "Not that I was daydreaming about _that_!" Lenny added, pointing to the female shark's chest. "But then again it's not like I didn't want to daydream about that, it's just… umm… I'll stop talking now." He finished, blushing a deep shade of red.

The female shark didn't look angry, she looked amused.

'_Well, it's a good thing he's cute.' _She thought.

"You don't have to explain." She said. "And it's a good thing you did stop talking. But here's a warning, anymore of staring at anything other than my face, and I'll be forced to slap you. Are we clear?"

Lenny smiled and nodded, thankful that she understood. "Crystal."

"Good." The female shark said. "You hungry?"

"No, not really…" Lenny stopped when he heard his stomach growl. "Yes." He admitted.

"Well that's great, I've got shrimp pancakes. Be right back." The female shark said, heading out the door. "By the way, my name's Ronnie." And with that, she disappeared down the hallway.

'_Ronnie…' _Lenny thought, smiling. _'That's a nice name.'_

'_Yeah,' _his conscious said, _'but you're interested in more than her name.'_

'_No I'm not.' _Lenny thought.

'_Yes you arrrre…' _his conscious teased.

"I've got to stop thinking…" Lenny mumbled to himself.

'_Lenny and Ronnie, sittin' in a tree…' _Lenny's conscious teased.

Lenny hit his head in an attempt to stop his concious's teasing, but only succeeded in making his head hurt more.

"Oww!" He whined.

'_Ha ha…' _Lenny's conscious laughed.

_Scene Change_

It was morning in Reef City. The scallops were singing, there was no traffic, fishes were getting ready to go to work, and everybody seemed to be in high spirits… everyone, that is, except for Oscar.

Oscar swam through the entrance into the Whale Wash.

"Hey, Oscar!"

Oscar looked towards the receptionist office and saw Rueben waving at him. Oscar swam over to his friend and said,

"'Sup Rube. How're you doin'?'?"

"I'm doing fine!" Rueben answered cheerfully, until he saw Oscar's gloomy face. Then his tone turned serious. "Unlike some people I know. You okay buddy?"

Oscar sighed. "Yeah, I'm just… I'm just having a bad day."

Rueben just sighed and shook his head. "It's about Angie isn't it?"

"Yeah." Oscar answered, looking down. "I went to Angie's apartment yesterday to talk her out of moving…"

Rueben's face brightened up. "And…?"

Oscar looked back up at Rueben, sadness filling his eyes. "And she slapped me."

Rueben winced at the thought of Angie slapping Oscar. "Ooh, harsh."

"Then she said it was my fault she was moving out."

"Ouch." Rueben said. "This isn't good."

"Yeah." Oscar said. "Right now I'd just like to be alone."

"Whatever you need buddy." Rueben said, watching Oscar swim off. He turned around, only to see Ernie and Bernie sticking their stingers out.

Rueben sighed, remembering the bet. "Here are your five clams." He said, handing them five clams.

"Thank you." Ernie said.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got phones to answer." Bernie said, he and his brother going into the receptionist room.

Rueben sighed. He knew that something was bothering Oscar, and that somehow it was his fault that Angie was moving out, he just didn't know what Oscar did.

'_I guess I'll just have to find out.' _He thought with determination.

_Scene Change_

"I've got the pancakes!"

Lenny watched as Ronnie came in the door, carrying a tray with two plates of pancakes, syrup, and two glasses or orange juice.

"Thanks." Lenny said, getting a plate of pancakes and orange juice.

"No prob." Ronnie said casually.

Lenny smiled but then realized something. "Wait… what flavor did you say these pancakes were again?"

"Shrimp flavored." Ronnie replied. "Why?"

"Because… I can't eat shrimp." Lenny said.

"Why not?" Ronnie asked.

"Because…" Lenny hesitated, not wanting to say why. Finally, he just said, "You'll laugh."

Ronnie gave a slight chuckle and said, "No I won't."

"Yes you will," Lenny said. "That's what Jamel said when I refused to tell him, and when I did, he laughed."

"Who's Jamel?" Questioned Ronnie.

"He's a friend of mine." Lenny said. "Anyway, you'll still laugh."

"No I won't." Ronnie insisted. "C'mon, tell me."

"Fine." Lenny sighed, putting down his plate and orange juice. "I'm a vegetarian." After he said that, he put his under his pillow, peeking out of it a little to see a smiling face and expecting to hear laughter. It never came.

"So?" Ronnie said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders.

"What do you mean, 'so'?" Lenny said, pulling his head from over the pillow. "You're the first shark I've ever told who hasn't laughed. I'm so tired of keeping it in all the time!" Lenny thought for a moment, and then added, "But I guess I'm an omnivore now, I ate a tuna fish last night."

"Don't feel bad." Ronnie said, putting a fin around Lenny's shoulder. "Believe it or not, I'm kind of an omnivore."

"You are?" Lenny asked in astonishment.

"Yep." Ronnie said. "I mostly eat meat, but if there's kelp around, I'll eat that too.

"Hmm." Lenny said to himself. Then he noticed Ronnie's fin around his shoulder. "Your fin is warm."

"Well I have been carrying around warm pancakes." Ronnie said with a smile, a faint blush forming in her cheeks.

Lenny realized what he had said out loud. "Oops! I didn't mean to say that out loud, I meant to think it!" Lenny said, embarrassed.

"Yeah, well, at least I know that my fins are warm instead of ice cold." Ronnie said. "So are you gonna eat your pancakes, or not?"

"I'll eat them." Lenny said, grabbing his plate and fork. When he bit into the shrimp pancake, once again he was surprised that he didn't throw it back up.

"Sooo…" Ronnie began, after swallowing a mouthful of pancake, "What's your name?"

"Lenny." Lenny answered.

Ronnie's eyes grew wide and she almost dropped her fork.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lenny asked, noticing Ronnie's expression.

"You're that don guy's son, aren't you?" Ronnie said in a near whisper.

"Yeah." Lenny said. "Though at times I wish I wasn't." He added with a mumble.

"If you're that don guy's son, why are you here?" Ronnie asked with a puzzled expression.

"I was kicked out of my house." Lenny mumbled.

"Why?" Ronnie asked.

"Because he hates me." Lenny answered with a sigh.

"What! Don't say that." Ronnie said, "He doesn't hate you."

"Yes he does." Lenny said, blinking back tears in his eyes. "He always singled me out and never accepted the fact that I was a vegetarian. He tried to force me to eat some shrimp... but he never got me to eat them. I got ticked off and let the shrimp free." Lenny chuckled, finding some humor in that moment. "Boy, he was mad."

"That still doesn't mean he hates you." Ronnie said. "I bet you're just… misunderstood."

"You think so?" Lenny asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Ronnie said. "So… after you got kicked out…"

"After I got kicked out," Lenny continued, "I swam, looking for a place to stay. I found the city, and decided to go in and ask for directions. So, I swam to this night club, and that's where I met Jamel. He got me into the club, brought me something to eat, and it seemed like everything was going okay. Then, this guy named Markie had to come in the picture."

"Markie?" Ronnie "Markie Loreto?"

"Yeah." Lenny said. "You know him?"

"Do I know him?" Ronnie said. "That guy is a jerk! He thinks he can get away with everything and everyone! He tried to kiss me once… and ended up with a swollen lip."

Lenny chuckled. "I wish I could've been there to see that. Anyway, that Markie guy came and started to get on my nerves; he was making fun of my pops. When I couldn't take it anymore, I lost my temper and punched him in the eye. Then, everything turned black."

"That's where I come in." Ronnie added. "You blacked out because after Markie slashed your chest with a knife…"

"He slashed my chest with a knife?" Lenny shouted.

"Yeah, luckily it wasn't deep, and you probably didn't feel it because he hit you over the head with something." Ronnie said. "I had to give you stitches. Didn't you notice the bandages wrapped around you?"

Lenny looked at his chest, and sure enough, there were bandages wrapped around him. "You did a pretty good job with the stitches and wrapping." He said.

"Thanks." Ronnie said. "Anyway, I was swimming towards the club, and I saw Markie dragging you out, probably about to hurt you even more. So, I swam over to him and told him that of he didn't put you down, I'd punch him out. That's when he dropped you and swam away. I swam over to you, saw that you were bleeding heavily, and dragged you back to the ship I live in." She finished. "By the way, you're heavy."

Lenny laughed. He had been told before that he was heavy, and then looked at Ronnie.

'_She doesn't look like she was lying when she said that Markie swam away after she threatened to punch him out.' _Lenny thought.

It _didn't _look like she was lying at all. Ronnie had green eyes just like Lenny, only they were a bit darker. She didn't have bulging muscles, but you could tell just by looking at her that she was strong. She looked innocent, the same innocence that Lenny possessed, but she also looked tough.

"Ahem. Lenny, you're staring." Ronnie said. "I told you what I would to if I caught you staring at any other part other than my face." Ronnie went over to Lenny and slapped him gently.

"Oww!" Lenny whined. Maybe she didn't slap him as gentle as she thought. "It's not okay to hit!"

"Well it's not polite to stare." Replied Ronnie. She then heard a knock at the door. "I'll be back in a sec."

_Scene Change_

"C'mon, please answer the door."

Jamel stood outside the door, shaking nervously. He hadn't seen Lenny after the incident last night, and thought that he was hurt severely. So, he went around the city asking people if they had seen a guy named Lenny.

_Creek._

Jamel literally jumped five feet into the air when he heard the door open.

'_It's just the door!' _He thought. _'Pull yourself together Jamel!'_

"Hello? And you are?"

Jamel was looking into the dark green eyes of Ronnie.

"Oh, hi, I'm Jamel." Jamel said nervously. "Have you seen a shark about this big, (he gestured with his fins) this wide, (he gestured with his fins again)"

"And has green eyes?" Ronnie finished for him.

"Yeah!" Jamel said excitedly. "Have you seen him?"

"Yep." Ronnie said. "He's inside. Come on in, Lenny's told me about you."

And with that, Ronnie and Jamel swam inside the ship.

"So," Jamel said, "How d'you know Lenny?"

"I patched him up." Ronnie answered. "There he is." She added, pointing into the room.

"Lenny!" Jamel shouted. He rushed into the room, taking Lenny by the shoulders and shaking him. "Lenny, are you okay? Speak to me man! Speak to me!"

Ronnie rolled her eyes at the dramatic scene.

"Wait… You've got pancakes!" Jamel dropped Lenny back on the bed. "I want pancakes! How come I don't get any pancakes?"

"Because you weren't brave enough to endure the pain of stitches." Lenny replied.

Ronnie rolled her eyes again. She was relieved when she heard a knock at the door. _'Thank God, it's the door.' _"I'll go get the door." She said, going to answer the door.

"So, you've had me worried about you for nothing." Jamel said in an accusing tone. "Here you are, lying in a nice bed, eating pancakes, with a nice and might I add, good looking girl to help you, while I was frantically looking around for you. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Yeah." Lenny said. "Could you pass the syrup?"

"I don't see how you're so calm about this." Jamel said, passing Lenny the syrup. He had to get back at him for making him so worried. He remembered how Lenny's face brightened at the mention of Ronnie, so he added with a smirk, "How's your girlfriend Ronnie doing?"

Lenny was drinking orange juice when Jamel said that, so he almost choked on it when he said that. Coughing and blushing, Lenny said, "She's not my girlfriend."

"Oh really?" Jamel said, amusement showing on his face. "Then why did you almost choke on your orange juice?"

"Uhh…" Lenny said, growing redder by the moment.

"And why are you blushing?" Jamel said in a teasing voice.

"Uhh…" Lenny said.

"Hey Lenny, I've got another visitor for you."

'_Thank God for Ronnie and the visitor.'_ Lenny thought.

Jamel and Lenny looked in the doorway and saw the other White tip that was with Markie.

"Hey." The White tip said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Lenny said.

"Sorry about my cousin." The White tip apologized. "He's a jerk."

"That's not the word I would pick for him." Jamel muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, he is." Lenny said, ignoring Jamel's comment. "You're probably mad at me for punching him though…"

"Nope." The White tip. "To tell the truth, it was the happiest moment in my life when I saw you sock him like that. I just wish it hadn't ended the way it did."

"Yeah, but hey, I've got pancakes." Lenny said with a smile. "So what's your name?"

"Andre." The White tip said. "And yours?"

"Lenny." Lenny returned.

Andre's eyes grew wide. "Aren't you…"

"That don guy's kid?" Lenny finished with a laugh. "Yeah, I am."

"Well what're you doing here?" Andre asked.

"I got kicked out my house." Lenny said, hoping that Andre wouldn't ask any further questions. He didn't.

"Harsh." Andre said. "Well, nice to meet you Lenny."

"Same to you." Lenny said.

"I'd be glad to go in your place." Andre said. "Your girlfriend seems nice."

Jamel tried to stifle his laughs, but he couldn't. He began to laugh, and through his blushing, Lenny glared at Jamel.

"What?" Andre asked, confused. "What did I say?"

"She's not my girlfriend." Lenny said, blushing redder than before.

"She's your wife?" Andre asked.

Jamel laughed even harder, clutching his sides in glee.

"What?" Andre asked, confused. "What did I say?"

"No, she's not my wife either." Lenny said, embarrassed. "She's a friend."

"Oh." Andre said. "Sorry. I just assumed that since you shared the same bed…"

"Oh God." Lenny moaned, covering his face. Jamel just kept on laughing.

"And since you lived in the same ship…"

"Stop it, stop it!" Lenny said. "Just stop it."

"Stop what?" Andre asked, beginning to get amused.

"Stop talking." Lenny answered.

"But…" Andre began.

"No," Lenny said, "Shut up."

"Okay." Andre said, beginning to snicker along with Jamel.

"What're you guys talking and laughing about?"

The trio turned around and saw Ronnie in the doorway.

"Oh," Jamel said with a mischievous grin, "We're talking about you, or at least Lenny was. Hey Lenny, why don't you tell her what you were saying?"

Lenny glared at Jamel, the type of glare that said, 'You're lucky I can't move right now.'

"Well?" Ronnie asked. "What were you saying about me, Lenny?"

"I was saying... that… you make tasty pancakes." Lenny lied.

Ronnie was going to go along with it, until Andre said,

"Cough, yeah right, cough."

Ronnie looked at Andre, looked at Jamel, and then looked at Lenny.

"What's going on here?" She said with a small smile.

"Just guy talk." Jamel said. "Hey Ronnie, what's gonna happen to Lenny?"

"Well, he's not exactly strong enough to swim around a lot, and he's got nowhere to stay, so he'll just have to stay with me." Ronnie answered.

Jamel and Andre looked at each other and went, "Oooh."

"Why are you going, 'oooh'?" Ronnie asked, crossing her fins.

"No reason." Jamel said. "Well, Andre and I have to go now. Gotta go do… things!"

"Right." Andre said. "We'll se ya later Lenny." And with that, Jamel and Andre swam out the door.

"You sure do have a weird taste in friends." Ronnie said. "'Cept for me. I'm normal… kind of."

"Yeah." Lenny said.

"I'm gonna go do stuff now." Ronnie said. "Be sure to take it easy, 'kay?"

"Sure." Lenny said.

Ronnie disappeared down the hallway, to go do… stuff.

'_Note to self,' _Lenny thought, _'Hurt Jamel and Andre.'_

The day seemed to go pretty well for Lenny, considering the fact he had stitches and a head wound.

"Stupid Oscar." Lenny mumbled to himself, before dozing off.

Life seemed to be turning out pretty rough for Lenny, but things would get better, right?

_TBC…_

_That's it mates. So, what d'you think? Was it good? This was the longest chapter I've wrote so far…eight pages. Go me. _

_If you've read this story, please R&R, even if you only want to say great job. Anonymous reviews have (finally) been enabled, so… yeah. I'm gonna stop talking now. _

_R&R pleez! And I'll be able to put Spanish in the next chapter! (kisses Spanish dictionary.) _


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: I'm baaaack! Thanx to all those who reviewed! I even got a new reviewer! Wooh! I hope to get more new reviewers in the future, but for now, I have to give those who reviewed a little recognition. _

**The Crouching Tiger Shark- He sure ain't gonna be happy when he finds out about what Oscar did. Thanx for that 'keyboard' tip about Rueben. It is useful for an idea I have. Lenny will be going back to himself around Ronnie, but when he gets ticked off… **

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Thanx for thinking that it's entertaining. As for what's going to happen to Markie… when you say 'mob style', even though I pretty much get it… what d'you have in mind:)**

**Lav'O'Dolphin- It sure is nice to have a frequent read. It might stop after a while though… back to school is comin' up… Even though Lenny isn't under a lot of stress, his new friends will be giving him a hard time in some chapters…**

**Xdoggreloaded88- Okay, I'll see if I could put Katie Current in later chappies. When you said to 'focus on the non-main characters', I thought of putting the shrimp in this story… I think I will…. Ahhh yes, Katie's line is one among many priceless lines in the movie.**

_Oh yeah, and so I won't leave you all clueless… you have to sing the song to the tune of 1985. _

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Five: Songs**

_Lenny's POV_

I was thankful. I was more thankful than I had ever been before. If it wasn't for Ronnie, I probably would've wound up in an alley somewhere. She's very nice, but she can punch hard. She gave me stitches and bandages; heck, she even gave me pancakes in bed! That's not even the best part; she didn't laugh at me when I told her that I was a vegetarian! She's omnivorous!

Yesterday was going pretty well… until I got teased by Jamel and Andre. What gave Andre the idea that Ronnie was my girlfriend? And Jamel wasn't helping by laughing his head off.

I tried to get up, expecting my head to start pounding and my chest to hurt. But it didn't! I decided to explore the ship a bit; Ronnie wouldn't mind. So, I got up and swam out the door.

_Ronnie's POV_

I swam into Lenny's room to check on him. To my surprise, he was gone!

'_He must've decided to explore the ship.' _I thought.

I was about to go find him when I saw a sheet of paper on his bed. I swam into the room to look at it, but then stopped myself. It's not right to look at other shark's personal things. I was going to swim away, really, I was… but I picked up the paper. It's not my fault I'm curious, I get it from my mom. When I looked at the paper, I found out that it was a song!

'_He must've written it.' _I thought. _'I didn't know he could write songs.' _So, I began to read the paper. The lyrics were catchy.

_Frankie just hit the wall_

_He almost had it all_

'_Who's Frankie?' _I thought. _'And how'd he die?'_

_It happened really fast_

_All you could hear was a blast_

_His height was 6 ft 4_

_He's also twenty-four_

So, Frankie was his brother. Okay, this all makes sense.

_Everybody cried_

_At the thought Frankie had died_

_He was gonna be a mob boss_

_He was gonna be a star_

_He was gonna pick up girls_

_In his cool dark red sports car_

Okay, so he was Lenny's older brother. Got it.

_His old colored TV_

_Is now his enemy_

_Looks at his old phonebook_

_Once dared to date Tracy Cook_

His TV was his enemy? My TV is one of my friends!

_An autograph of Al Pacino_

_And a signed tape of Goodfellas_

_A photo of Robert De Niro_

_That somehow turned yellow_

He's got an autograph of Al Pacino? I want one!

_It was really sad_

_To hear that he died_

_In the year_

_2000, 2000, 2005_

Wow, that's a nice song. Catchy, not too long. He should be a lyric writer for a rock band.

Putting the song back on the bed, I swam out the door. I saw Lenny coming, and tried to hide from him. He might not have wanted me to see the song he wrote. Hiding behind a wooden drawer with flowers on it, I hoped to be out of sight. Unfortunately, just as Lenny was passing by, I got a splinter shoved into my fin. It _hurt._

"Ay!" I shouted, jumping up. "¡Madera estúpida! ¡Usted me dio una astilla!" (Translation: Oww! Stupid wood! You gave me a splinter!)

"Ronnie? Is that you?"

I was busted. Coming out from behind the drawer, I smiled sheepishly and said, "Hey Lenny? How's it goin'?"

"Fine." Lenny said, looking at me with a weird expression. "Why are you behind a drawer?"

"Oh! That. I was, uh…" I tried my best to think of an excuse, but all I could come up with was this, "I was admiring the fine wood work! Yep, this is classic wood."

I patted the drawer with my fin, and dug the splinter in deeper. Man, I'm stupid.

"Hey," I heard Lenny say, "Let me pull that out for ya."

He pulled out my splinter, and it didn't even hurt! Man, this guy must have healing powers or somethin'!

"Thanks." I said with a smile.

"Fuggedaboutit." He said with an accent.

"I love it when people say that!" I exclaimed.

"What?" He asked. "You mean fuggedaboutit?"

"Yeah!" I said. "It's so… Italian-mafiaish!"

"Well I'm from a mafia." Lenny said with a shrug. "But I've never said it until now. I didn't know I could say it."

"Hmm." I said. "I didn't know you could write songs." I immediately realized what I had said, and covered my mouth with my fin.

"So, you saw that sheet of paper I have?" Lenny said.

"Oh snap." I said. "Listen, I didn't mean to violate or anything…"

"That's okay." Lenny said with a smile. "I was hoping somebody would read it and like it."

"Oh." I said with a sigh of relief. "Da las gracias para entender." (Thanks for understanding.)

_Lenny's POV_

"Hey," I began, "Did you just speak Spanish?"

Ronnie looked at me with a smile. "Yeah, it is."

How'd she learn how to speak Spanish? Ronnie noticed my look and added,

"I was born of the coast of Puerto Rico. My mom was originally born there, and saw was my dad. When I was three, I moved to this city. So, here I am."

For the first time, I noticed that she had an accent. Why didn't I notice that before?

"Well," Ronnie said, swimming down the hallway, "I'm gonna go take a nap, and I'm going to enjoy it. You can take off those bandages now; you might still be tender in some areas, but you're pretty much healed." And with that, she made her way to her room.

"Yes!" I shouted silently to myself. Not caring how the bandages came off, I ripped them off like a little kid rips paper off of presents. I was sure to throw them away though.

It was a bright, sunny day, so I decided to see where Jamel and Andre were. When I opened up the door, to my surprise, Jamel and Andre were right outside the door!

"Hello." I said, crossing my fins. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Andre replied, looking excited about something. "But we've got something more important to tell you!"

_Normal POV_

"Well what is…" Lenny began, but was cut off by Jamel.

"Shhh, don't talk!" Jamel said with an excited smile on his face. "Okay, so we all know that you've got no place of your own, right?"

"Riiight…." Lenny said, an eyebrow raised.

"Well you're never gonna believe this!" Andre said.

"I'll believe anything." Lenny said, his excitement growing.

"Okay, here's the surprise." Andre continued. "There's a new ship that's for sale, and nobody has seen it yet!"

"So," Jamel added. "There's a chance that you can get the place first!"

"Really?" Lenny near shouted, full of excitement. "Well where is it?"

"It's over this way, c'mon!" Jamel said, swimming off in the east direction.

_Scene Change_

Andre, Jamel, and Lenny stared in wonder at the cruise ship in front of them.

"Wow." The three friends said in unison.

"I can't believe it." Lenny said. "You guys actually found a ship for me?"

"Yeah, you're our friend." Jamel said. "Friends help each other out. So don't get all emotional about it, kay?"

"All right." Lenny said. "But, there's only one problem."

"What?" Andre and Jamel asked.

"Where am I gonna get the money for it?" Lenny asked.

"Oh, well… uh…" Jamel began.

"We forgot about that part." Andre finished. "But hey, we know how much it costs. It costs three thousand dollars."

"Three thousand dollars?" Lenny said. "That's more than what I used to get at my other job!"

"Yeah, but hey, at least there's hope, right?" Jamel said with a smile.

"Jamel, there's no way I can get three thousand dollars before someone else gets this place." Lenny said. "It's not like a big flyer with the word, 'Opportunity' in bold is going to fly right in my face."

Suddenly, a gust of wind brought a flyer. The flyer flew right onto Lenny's face.

Jamel and Andre looked at each other with grins on their faces.

"What's it say?" Andre asked.

Lenny pulled the flyer off his face and said, "It says opportunity."

Andre's grin grew bigger as he asked, "And the letters are in bold, aren't they?"

Lenny looked at Andre and Jamel and sighed, "Yes."

_Scene Change_

Rueben swam into the receptionist room. That's where he pretty much always started his day. He usually went there to chat with Ernie and Bernie, but today he was going to tell Ernie and Bernie about his 'fool proof' plan.

"Ernie! Bernie!"

Ernie and Bernie's heads appeared from behind Rueben.

"What is it mon?" Ernie asked. "Can't you see that we're busy?"

"There you are." Rueben said. "Listen, we've gotta get Oscar and Angie back together."

Bernie chuckled and said, "Yeah right. How're we supposed to get them back together? The magic of 'Mr. Happy Forgiveness Man'?"

"No." replied Rueben with a grin on his face. "We're going to get them back together with the magic of 'Dr. Looove!'"

"What?" Ernie and Bernie said incredulously.

"Yeah, and I need your help." Rueben said.

"No way mon, you are not putting us in one of your crazy schemes!" Ernie said, crossing his tentacles.

"C'mon you guys!" Rueben pleaded. "We all know that Oscar is depressed, and why is that? Because Angie isn't talkin' to him anymore. He's obviously done something to make her mad, but he doesn't know what to do! And if we get them back together, Ang won't move, he'll be happy, and things will go back to normal! So c'mon you guys, you've gotta help me!" He added that last sentence with wide, cute eyes.

Ernie and Bernie looked at each other and sighed. "All right," they said, "We're in."

Rueben's wide, cute eyes turned regular and his mouth took on a mischievous smile.

"All right," He said, "Here's what we have to do."

He whispered his plan into Ernie and Bernie's ear, and when he was done, Ernie looked at him in surprise.

"What? You're crazy!" Ernie said. "How is that supposed to work?"

"You know how to sing, right?" Rueben asked.

"Right." The two jellyfish answered.

"And I'm a great keyboard player, right?" Rueben asked again.

"Right." The two jellyfish said again.

"Well then don't worry about it, everything will go a-okay. What's the worst that could happen?" Rueben said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to do."

And with that, he went to clean a whale's tongue.

Ernie and Bernie looked at each other with the same expression. They were beginning to wish that they hadn't agreed to Rueben's plan.

_TBC…_

_What's Lenny's opportunity? What's Rueben's plan? Will Rueben's plan work? Will the mafia ever find Lenny? Only one way to find out, and that's to stick around for the next chappies! Oh yeah, and here are some descriptions on my created characters…_

**Jamel- Age: 21 **

**Appearance: Spotted with brown eyes.**

**Personality: He's a good friend, and a fun loving guy. He can find humor in everything, but whenever his friends are in trouble, he'll get serious and try to help them.**

**Who could do his voice: Still deciding. (Any suggestions?)**

**Andre- Age: 21**

**Appearance: Bluish-white, a white tipped nose, with dark blue eyes**

**Personality- Very outgoing. He's the one who helps out Jamel and Lenny the most when they have a problem. He's very peaceful and he's usually the one who has to pull Jamel and Lenny out of trouble!**

**Who could do his voice: Frankie J.**

**Ronnie- Age: 19, though she'll be turning twenty in a later chapter.**

**Appearance: Black and white with dark green eyes.**

**Personality: She is NOT a Mary-Sue. She's helpful, good at doctoring, and knows her way around the city. She has a Puerto Rican accent and speaks Spanish whenever she's relieved, surprised, extremely sad or mad. She's very gentle and has an innocent look, but get on her bad side and she'll kick your butt.**

**Who could do her voice: Still deciding. (Any suggestions)**

**Markie- Age: 22**

**Appearance: grayish-white with a white tipped nose, and black eyes that let you know that he's a trouble maker.**

**Personality: He's a trouble maker, and likes to pick fights with anybody whenever he can. He acts tough, but like all bullies, he's mostly a wimp. **

**Who could do his voice: Still deciding. (Any suggestions?) **

_That's it everybody! R&R please! And keep a look out for the next chappie! _


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Sup ya'll. I'm back again. All righty, so as you all know, Lenny got an 'opportunity', and Rueben has some crazy plan. What's gonna happen now?_

**Xdoggrealoaded88- All right, I won't leave you hangin'. I like your story so far, it's coming along great. Nice master card parody… you like the word 'priceless', don't you?**

**Insane Pirate Dragon- (buzzer sound) Wrong! The opportunity has nothing to do with wrestling… but it is included as one of the three things on the list. **

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Six: Opportunity and Letters to Angie**

"Well what does the paper say?"

Ever since Lenny had gotten a sheet of paper stuck to his face, (which was only a few hours ago) Andre had been bugging him to read what it said.

"All right, I'll read it!" Lenny said. Lenny straightened out the paper and began to read. "For all those interested: here are three ways to make…" Lenny trailed off and his eyes grew big.

"What's it say?" Jamel asked. "Don't leave us hangin' man!"

Lenny continued to read. "Here are three ways to make one million clams."

Jamel and Andre looked at each other with surprised and excited expressions.

"The first way to get your million clam prize is by cooking."

"You could cook for a million clams!" Andre said. "Then, after you've got the million clams, you could buy that new ship and still have money to buy supplies!"

"Yeah," Lenny replied, "But I think I'll look at another option. I'm not a world famous chef." He looked at the second way to get the clams. "The second way is to test your strength in the ring; wrestling."

"There!" Jamel said. "You could wrestle. How hard can it be? You could just take one look at the guy and he'll cower."

"Ummm… no." Lenny said.

"Why not?" Andre and Jamel asked. "You're a big guy; you can take on sea creatures."

"Well, hey! Guess what!" Lenny said. "I'm a wimp."

"So?" Jamel said stupidly.

Lenny sighed. "Sorry you guys, but I don't feel like getting my ass kicked for millions of fish to see."

Andre said, "It's gonna be on TV?"

"Yup." Lenny answered, nodding his head.

"Well in that case, you better look at the other option!" Andre said. "This is your last hope!"

Lenny began to read again. "The third and final way to get some clams is this; a talent contest at a club called 'Poetry corner.' It's a place where most poets go. There's only one catch to this talent contest; you cannot read a poem. You must do something else." Lenny looked up from the paper and smiled at his friends. "Now this is better."

"You're entering in the talent contest?" Andre asked.

"Yeah." Lenny said. "It's not on TV, so if something goes wrong only a few fish'll see it, and it's something I know I can do. I bet I can find a talent before the end of the month."

"The end of the month is only two and a half weeks away." Jamel said. "What're you gonna find by then?"

Lenny thought, and thought, and thought some more. Finally, he had an idea. "I'll dance my way into the talent contest!"

Andre and Jamel looked at him like he was crazy.

"What?" Lenny asked.

"You're not expecting one of us to be your partner, are you?" Jamel questioned. "'Cause we're not gonna gain a reputation as sugar plum fairies…"

Lenny looked at them and laughed. "Sugar plum fairies? I'm not dancing ballet, that's just scary and girlish. And no, I'm not expecting you guys to be my partners. I had someone else in mind…"

At that comment, Jamel and Andre put on grins and said, "Oooh."

Lenny glared at them and said, "Shut up."

"Sorry Lenny," Jamel said, "But you know it's true."

"No it's not!" Lenny said. "She's just a friend."

"Oh really?" Andre said. "Then why d'you want her as your partner?"

Lenny blushed and took his time before stuttering out, "B-because she's the on-only other s-shark I know. B-b-besides, she c-could teach me a S-sp-Spanish dance… hic!" Lenny blushed and covered his mouth, trying to hide the hiccup.

Jamel chuckled and said, "What dance d'you want her to teach you? Huh? The Spanish dance of _amor_?

Jamel's comment had Andre and himself rolling on the sea floor laughing.

"No!" Lenny said, blushing redder than before.

Once his laughter had subsided, Andre's voice took on a serious tone, though his face still held a smile. "Okay, we're sorry, we really are. But... you've gotta admit, you do like her a little."

Lenny's only response was, "Well, uh…"

"And you have thought about datin' her, haven't you?" Andre continued.

Lenny sighed. "Yes." He muttered under her breath.

"What?" Jamel said. "I'm sorry, but we couldn't hear you."

"Yes!" Lenny shouted out. "There, I said it! You happy now?"

"Very happy." Jamel replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to work now."

"You have a job?" Lenny asked.

"Yeah, a pizza delivery man." Jamel said. "Hey, it's better than being a French fry shark down at Fish King."

"What about you?" Lenny asked, looking at Andre.

"Oh, I'm a video game maker." Andre said with a shrug.

"What?" Jamel said. "So while I'm out delivering pizzas during the hot summer, you're playing 'Halo 2'?"

"It's not that simple!" Andre said. "You have to program everything, and then get somebody to look at it and see if it'll make it to the publishing stage…"

"Yeah right." Jamel said. "I've gotta go now." And with that, he rushed off to the city.

"Oh wait!" Andre shouted, putting his fin to his head. "I forgot! I promised the 'Big Fish' company that I'd work on this new game for them! Sorry Lenny, but I've gotta go." Andre dashed off to his apartment to make a video game.

'_Lucky him, he gets a cool job.' _Lenny thought. _'At least now I can find out about a dance from Ronnie. Plus… I think I'll write a letter to Angie. She probably wants to know how I'm doing.'_

So, Lenny swam back to ship, where he could get a talent and write a letter to Angie. It would only take the mail about an hour to get to Angie's house; that's how fast the mail is.

_Scene Change_

"You got the letter?"

"Yeah mon, but I still think this isn't gonna work."

Rueben, Ernie and Bernie were hiding behind the mailbox in front of Angie's apartment.

"Of course this will work." Rueben whispered back to Ernie. "All you have to do is go up to her personal mailbox, drop the letter in, and ring the buzzer. The Ang will look in her mailbox, get the letter, and everything else will work its way from there."

"Fine." Ernie said, swimming towards Angie's personal mailbox, "But I'm not gonna like this." He put the letter in Angie's mailbox, and saw another letter in there. _'Hey, there's another letter for her. And it says it's from a guy named Lenny!' _

"Ernie!" Bernie whispered. "Hurry up!"

Ernie pressed the buzzer and dashed back behind the mailbox. The three saw the door open.

"She's getting the mail!" Ernie said.

"Shhh!" Rueben and Bernie shushed. "You'll give us away!"

The three watched as Angie took the letters from her mailbox. They waited for her to go back inside before speaking.

"Yes! She got the letters!" Rueben said triumphantly. "Now all we have to do is sit back and watch the plan go into action."

"Umm… Rueben?" Ernie said. "We've got a problem."

"What?" Rueben asked. "You put the letter in the right box, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Ernie said, "there's another problem. Angie had another letter. It said it was from a guy named Lenny!"

"So…?" Bernie said.

"Sooo, we have to make sure that Osca' and Ang get back together, or her new boyfriend will keep them apart forever!"

"Great. Another challenge." Rueben said. "But hey, don't worry, my plan will work."

"There's another problem too." Bernie said. "If we show up at the restaurant at the same time that Osca' and Angie do, they'll know that we set the whole thing up."

"Another thing taken care of." Rueben said. "We'll go in disguise."

"Hmm, we neva' thought of that." Ernie said.

"That's cuz I'm the man." Rueben said with a boasting tone. "The man with a plan."

"The man with a plan that better work." Bernie added. "So, where are we gonna get the costumes? I hope it's not that costume shack place, that place has cheap costumes at expensive prices."

"Our costumes aren't 'put on' costumes." Rueben said. "They're more of… 'spray on' costumes."

Ernie and Bernie looked at Rueben with a look of confusion.

"I got the Shorties to spray some spray paint on us for costumes." Rueben explained. "It was a favor for when I didn't tell Officer O'Hara where they were off to."

"Well that explains everything." Ernie said sarcastically. "Great plan Rube."

"Yeah, I know!" Rueben said a bit too enthusiastically. "Now c'mon, we've gotta go set everything up."

So, Rueben, Ernie and Bernie all swam of to get ready for tonight.

_Scene Change_

Meanwhile, Angie was sitting on her couch, about to open her mail.

"Let's see," She said to herself, "Which mail should I read first. The one with the blue stamp or the one with the red stamp?"

After five seconds, Angie said, "I think I'll go with the blue stamped one. I wonder who it's from."

Angie looked at the words on the envelope. "To Miss Angie, yes I know that, but who's it from?" She ripped open the envelope and continued to read. "Okay, so this part tells me who the letter is from. "It says it's from… Lenny?"

Angie dropped the envelope in shock. _'I got a letter from Lenny? But, how did he get pencil and paper?' _Angie thought. _'Well if he has pencil and paper than he must be doing well.'_

Angie picked the letter from off the floor and began to read it. It said:

_Hey Angie,_

_I'm doing fine. I've got a head wound and I needed to get stitches, but I'm pretty much okay. I'm trying to get this new ship in this city I've found (don't try to visit it; you'll get eaten) but I've got a place to stay. I'm staying at my new friend Ronnie's (she's a girl, don't be fooled by the name) place, and she's very nice. She didn't laugh at me when I said I was a vegetarian; truth is she's omnivorous! I also have two friends named Jamel and Andre. How I met Jamel, Andre, Ronnie, and got stitches and a head wound is another story. There are some slight problems though; I'm not exactly a vegetarian anymore. Plus, even though Jamel and Andre didn't tell me this, I know that there's a shark named Markie who's after my blood. Why he's after me is another story and how I met him will explain everything. There's something I have to know though. How's everything at Reef City? Hope everything is going all right for you. _

_Love,_

_Lenny_

_P.S. The address of where I am is on the back of this letter._

Angie closed up the folded letter. She couldn't believe it. It had only been three day since Lenny had to find a new home, and he already had friends as well as trouble. Her main concern was how he got stitches and a head wound, but the thing that surprised her most was when he said he wasn't a vegetarian anymore.

'_At least I know he's okay.' _Angie thought. _'I'll have to write him back. But in the meantime, I think I'll read this other letter.'_

Angie opened up the other letter and read it. It said:

_Hello Angie._

_It's a friend of yours. Don't ask who, you'll find out soon. Meet me at Finson's restaurant at eight o clock sharp. Don't be late, I hope to see you there._

'_Finson's?' _Angie thought. _'That's like, the expensivest restaurant in Reef City! Who can afford to go there?'_

Angie put her two letters on her table. _'Oh well, might as well get ready for tonight.' _Angie thought.

Little did she know, that a certain other fish got the same letter…

_Scene Change_

Oscar had just finished reading the letter he got in the mail. It told him to be at Finson's restaurant at seven fifty nine, and not a minute late.

'_Finson's restaurant?' _Oscar thought. _'I don't know any friend of mine that can afford to eat at Finson's! Maybe this guy isn't really my friend… maybe this so called 'friend' is a killer!'_

Oscar placed his letter on the couch and searched around for his remote. "Where's that remote… here it is!" He muttered to himself.

After finding the remote, he turned on the TV to watch the news. Katie Current's face appeared on the screen, talking about heavy traffic.

Oscar chuckled to himself. Ever since the incident at the Whale Wash, for some reason, nothing interesting really happened. _'Looks like Katie's desperate for a good story.' _He thought. Then his mind turned back to the letter. _'You know… one of my friends could afford to eat at that restaurant. Maybe someone I know won the lottery. I shouldn't really underestimate people. Just like my mama told me; "Never underestimate ANYONE, especially not your friends."' _

After thinking, Oscar rose up from the couch and said to himself, "I guess I should look for something nice to wear."

So, Oscar also got ready for tonight.

_Scene Change_

"Are you sure I could do this?"

"Of course. I'll just teach you the moves."

Lenny had gone to tell Ronnie about his big 'opportunity.' When he had gone to ask her about a dance, she answered him in a dance that she knew all too well: the salsa!

"But… how am I supposed to learn the salsa in two weeks?" Lenny asked.

"Don't worry, I'm a great dancing instructor, if I do say so myself." Ronnie answered.

"Okay, I'll give it a shot." Lenny said with a small smile.

"Great!" Ronnie said. "Now, as for your partner… does she know how to dance this?"

"Yes." Lenny answered.

"Okay." Ronnie said. "So who's your partner?"

"I don't have one yet." Lenny replied.

Ronnie looked at him with a puzzled expression. "But you just said your partner knew how to dance it."

"Yeah, I did," replied Lenny, "But I don't have a partner. I was going to ask her if she wanted to be my partner, but I haven't asked her yet, and I know she can dance it."

"Oh." Said Ronnie, still confused. "So who were you gonna ask?"

"You." Lenny answered, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks.

Ronnie looked at Lenny with a surprised expression. "Me?"

"Yes." Lenny said, still blushing. "You're the only one I know who knows how to dance it, and I'm not asking Jamel and Andre. That would be creepy. So… what d'you say?"

Ronnie stared at Lenny for a minute before answering with a smile, "All right."

"Yes!" Lenny shouted triumphantly.

Ronnie couldn't help but laugh at Lenny's childish behavior. "But you have to promise me one thing though." Ronnie said.

"What is it?" Lenny asked.

"No grabbing." Ronnie answered. "Not that I don't trust you or anything but...I've heard of guys who got banned from dancing because of grabbing in… certain places." She added with a blush.

"All right," Lenny said. "No touching. I promise, scouts honor."

"Good." Ronnie said. "Now let's get a pizza!" She swam over to the phone and ordered a large shrimparoni pizza.

When she was off the phone, Lenny cautioned, "Jamel might be our pizza delivery guy."

"What?"

"Yeah," Lenny said, "He works at a pizza place."

"Since he's your friend… does that mean we could get the pizza for free?" Ronnie asked excitedly.

"No, he'd make us pay." Lenny said. "Besides, he might not be our pizza delivery guy."

"Yeah, that's right." Ronnie said. "Out of all the pizza delivery guys in this city, there's a low chance of it being him."

_Scene Change_

Meanwhile, in a pizza place, Jamel was getting ready to deliver a pizza…

"I've got a special pizza for you Lenny." Jamel said. "A VERY special pizza. Mwahahahahaha!"

"Jamel!" Jamel's boss said. "I don't pay you to lave like an evil idiot! I pay you to deliver pizzas! Now get goin'!"

"Yes Mr. Jetty." Jamel said, as he swam out the door.

Things were going to get a bit more interesting…

_TBC…_

_Bum, bum, bum! Jamel did something to Lenny's pizza! (Cue dramatic music.) Rueben's plan is goin' into action! (Cue dramatic music.) What's going to happen as Ronnie teaches Lenny how to dance? (Cue dramatic music.) I'll tell you what's going to happen. Crazy things are going to happen. What type of crazy things? Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie!_

_**And Now For a Special Announcement**_

**Every time a chappie is posted up, you can help an eleven year old author. Review the chapters. Every time you review good reviews, an eleven year old author's self esteem is boosted up, and the chappies turn better. Please, review a chapter, and help the eleven year old author's self esteem and chappies.**

_Like it says above, R&R pleez! _


	7. Pizza trouble and songs!

_Author's Note: I am back with a new chappie! Okay, now for a recap;_

_**In the last chappie, Rueben hatched a crazy plan and Jamel did something to Lenny and Ronnie's pizza. In this chappie you'll find out the humorous and not-so-humorous consequences of Rueben and Jamel's actions. **_

**Xdoggrealoded88- You want more, you got it. Thanks for giving me an idea… the idea of reporting about gun shots… you'll see how I used it… :)**

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Oh, it'll bring 'em 'closer' all right… (Hint, hint) :) **

_I got the idea of Rueben's plan from one of my favorite episodes from 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.' _

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Seven: Dinner Fiascos**

Eight 'o'clock sharp; the time Angie arrived at Finson's restaurant. She was wearing a nice pair of earrings for this night; it wasn't every day she could get into a fancy restaurant. Heck, she didn't know that she could get into a fancy restaurant!

"There she is!" Rueben whispered to Ernie and Bernie; though you couldn't tell it was Rueben, Ernie or Bernie.

This is because Rueben, Ernie, and Bernie were in disguise. Rueben was painted as a French Rock fish. Ernie and Bernie were painted as Mexican Sea Angels; the only thing that came close to resembling jellyfish. Of course, if Angie only saw them in paint, she'd recognize the three immediately. That's why they had to accessorize. Rueben had on shades and a beret while Ernie and Bernie had on sombreros and fake Spanish style mustaches.

"Let's go get her." Rueben whispered to Ernie, who nodded in agreement.

"What about me?" Bernie whispered.

"You know what to do, follow the plan." Ernie whispered back; and with that, Rueben and Ernie swam off in Angie's direction.

_Scene Change_

Lenny and Ronnie were waiting for their pizza, when the doorbell rang.

"That's the pizza!" Lenny said, as he swam to answer the door.

As Lenny opened the door, he wasn't surprised at all to see Jamel holding a pizza.

"Hey there Lenny." Jamel said with the usual grin he wore when he was up to something. "Surprised to see me?"

"Not at all." Lenny said with a smile. "I'll just take that pizza from you." He added, taking the pizza.

"Be careful," Jamel warned, "The cheese on that pizza is pretty… sticky. And it might lead to… sticky situations."

"What're you up to?" Lenny asked.

"What, can't a friend warn his friend about a pizza with sticky cheese?" Jamel said with his grin. "I've gotta go now; Mr. Jetty won't be pleased if I deliver all these pizzas late." And with that, Jamel swam off.

Lenny shook his head and swam into the ship with the pizza.

"I've got the pizza!" Lenny shouted, as he headed back into the living room. (Remember that they're eating in the living room on a couch.)

"Great!" Ronnie said. "Wanna watch a movie? My VCR isn't working, so we'll just have to catch a movie on Cox cable."

"All right with me." Lenny said. "So what's on?"

"Okay, let's see…" Ronnie said, turning on the TV. "There's 'Hide and Seek', 'Die another Day,' and 'Finding Nemo.'

"Hmm… how 'bout 'Hide and Seek?" Lenny suggested.

"Aww, really?" Ronnie said with fake disappointment. "I was looking forward to seeing Nemo."

Lenny laughed and said, "Oh don't worry, you could find him later."

"Well let's watch 'Hide and Seek' then!" Ronnie said, turning it to the scary movie channel. "And let's get some pizza!"

Ronnie opened up the pizza box and her face took on a look of surprise. "Umm… Lenny?"

"What?" Lenny asked. "Is the movie too scary or something?"

"No, it's not that…" Ronnie said. "Just… look at the pizza."

Lenny swam over to the open pizza box and stared in surprise. The pizza was heart shaped and the shrimparoni on it where all heart shaped too.

"It's heart shaped!" Lenny said.

"Yeah." Ronnie said. "Maybe it was made for somebody else. Maybe we got the wrong pizza."

'_Yeah right. Jamel did this on purpose.' _Lenny thought, but he decided to say, "Yeah, maybe it is… hey, I forgot to pay Jamel! And I forgot to lock to door!"

""Oh don't worry; I'll just leave the tip on the table in case he comes back." Ronnie said, placing the money on the table behind the couch. "Well, our pizza or not, I'm eating it." She added, reaching for a slice of pizza.

Lenny looked back at the door, thinking. _'Maybe I should lock it…' _He went to go lock the door, but…

"Umm… Lenny?" He heard Ronnie say.

"What?" Lenny asked. "Did the movie start already."

"Yeah, but it's not that." Ronnie said. "I grabbed a pizza slice and now I'm… stuck."

"What?" Lenny asked. He glanced over in her direction and saw her fin on a slice of pizza still attached to the box; trying to pull away. How'd she get stuck like that?

_Scene Change_

'_Where am I supposed to go?' _Angie thought.

"Oh, mademoiselle, you look beautiful."

Angie turned around to see a fish and sea angel swimming towards her.

"Excuse me?" Angie asked.

"Oh, mademoiselle, forgive me for my… lack of introductions." Rueben said in a French accent. "I am… uh…"

"He is Jacques." Ernie said, noting his friend's trouble.

"And why did he just swim up to me?" Angie asked.

"Ah, you got a letter from a certain 'friend', did you not?" Rueben asked.

"Yes, I did!" Angie said in a surprised tone. "How'd you know?"

"Because, senorita, we're here to take you to your friend." Ernie said. "Or at least he is, anyway." He added, pointing to Bernie.

"Well thanks!" Angie said gratefully. "I was looking around for where to go!"

"There's just one catch." Rueben said. "You have to wear this (he pulled out a piece of cloth) blindfold."

"Your friend said he wanted it to be a surprise." Ernie added.

"Well okay." Angie said with a giggle.

"Here we go!" Rueben said, taking Angie to Bernie.

Meanwhile, Oscar was sitting at a table with a blindfold on.

'_Why'd they have to blindfold me?' _Oscar thought. _'It must be a very big surprise.'_

Bernie and Angie had reached Oscar's table, and Bernie gave Angie instructions to sit down.

"Okay, now don't speak until after the directions; your voices might give you away." Bernie said. _'That and, if you recognize each other, you'll go away and the plan will fail.' _He added in his mind.

"Okay, now n the count of three, I want you both to remove your blindfolds." Bernie said. "One… two… three!"

Angie and Oscar removed their blindfolds, and Bernie swam away, leaving them alone.

"Oscar?"

"Angie?"

The two were surprised to see each other.

"Ang…" Oscar began.

"Bye Oscar." Angie said, getting up to leave.

"Wait, Ang! There's somethin' I need to say… and this time, it's not excuses." Oscar said.

Angie sat back down and said, "I'm listening."

"Okay, I wanted to apologize for everything I did to you." Oscar said sincerely. "I know sorry just doesn't cut it, but… I have to try. I got you a chocolate bar. There weren't anymore chocolate gift packs, so I just got this." He added. Handing her a chocolate bar.

Angie took the bar and said, "So you're going to tell everyone the truth?"

"Erm…" Oscar said, scratching his neck.

Angie took the wrapper off the heart shaped chocolate bar…

'_Is she still mad at me?' _Oscar thought.

…and broke it in half before smashing it into pieces.

'_Yep, she's still mad at me.' _Oscar thought.

"You know what I just did to that candy bar?" Angie said angrily. "That's the same thing you did to my heart… and the same thing I'd do to you if there weren't so many witnesses."

Oscar sat there, shocked. _'What am I supposed to do?'_ he thought. His question seemed to be answered by a fish playing on a portable keyboard.

"Oscar you must take a chance." Rueben sang. "You've gotta bring your best friend back."

"Where there is love, I'll be there!" The three chorused.

"Give it a try-aye-aye…. Aye!" Rueben said off key, directly to Oscar.

"Is it me, or do those fish need singing lessons?" Oscar joked.

Angie wasn't laughing.

"Okay look… Ang…" Oscar said in a serious tone, "I'm sorry."

"Didn't you already say that?" Angie said. "And even you admitted that 'sorry' wasn't enough."

'_Dang!' _Oscar thought. _'What do I do now?' _

"You got to know when to flow." The trio sang. "Know when to hold her. In other words, get your girl back!"

"You get the feeling that they're talking about us." Oscar said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but they're mostly talking about you." Angie replied.

"Ang… what am I supposed to do?" Oscar asked.

"You know what you're supposed to do." Angie said, with her arms crossed.

"Listen to your heart! When he's calling for you!" The trio sang loud and off key. They were cut off by an angry fish.

"Shut up!" The angry fish shouted. He picked up his glass of champagne, and threw the drink on Rueben.

"Nooo!" Rueben shouted.

The ice cold champagne hit Rueben, melting off his costume.

"Rueben!" Oscar and Angie shouted.

Rueben floated before a puddle of paint, smiling nervously. "Hi."

_Scene Change_

"How'd you get stuck?" Lenny asked, trying to pull Ronnie away from the pizza.

"I don't know!" Ronnie said. "I just touched it and it stuck on me!"

"Well that's something you don't hear every day." Lenny commented.

"Just help me out here." Ronnie said, struggling to get her fin off the pizza.

"Maybe I should be trying to get your fin off the pizza." Lenny said, going over to Ronnie's fin.

Lenny grabbed Ronnie's fin and tried to pull it off the pizza, but it didn't work.

"Well that didn't work." Ronnie mumbled.

Lenny tried to take his fin off Ronnie's fin… but he was stuck!

"Uhh… Ronnie?"

"What?" Ronnie said excitedly. "Am I unstuck?"

"No." Lenny said. "I'm stuck too."

"You tried to get a slice of pizza?" Ronnie questioned.

"No… and it's not the pizza I'm stuck to."

Ronnie looked down at her fin and saw Lenny's fin stuck to hers.

"Umm…" Ronnie said. "Lemme try to get your fin unstuck."

Ronnie tried to get Lenny's fin off hers, but only succeeded in getting her other fin stuck.

"This is a problem." Ronnie said.

"Yeah," Lenny said, "What're we supposed to do now?"

A scream was heard.

"Ahhh!" the two sharks shouted. They tumbled onto the couch, still stuck together. After heavy breathing, they realized where the noise came from.

"It was just the movie." Lenny said.

"Well that was stupid." Ronnie muttered.

"Hey, you guys!" They heard Jamel's voice coming from the door. "I cam back 'cause I forgot my tip…" He stopped when he saw Lenny and Ronnie.

"All right Lenny!" He shouted with a grin.

Lenny wondered about what Jamel had said when he said that, and he found out soon. When Lenny and Ronnie had fallen on the couch, they switched positions, putting them into a very… compromising position. Ronnie was on top Lenny, fins around his neck, while Lenny was on the bottom, fins around her waist. Ronnie seemed to notice this too.

"Your tip's on the table." Ronnie growled.

"Looks like I'm not the only one getting 'tipped.'" Jamel said with a huge grin lighting up his face.

Lenny and Ronnie blushed and gave Jamel two death glares.

"Just take the tip." Ronnie growled.

"All right, I'll take the tip." Jamel said while taking the tip and swimming back towards the door. When he had gotten near the door, he stopped and said, (of course he still had that smile on his face) "Sorry if I interrupted or anything, but you should be glad I came now. I'd be shattered for life if I came four minutes later…"

His comment was ended with the remote thrown at his head.

"I'll go now." Jamel said, dashing out the door.

When Jamel was gone, Lenny commented, "I knew I should've locked the door."

"Too late for that now." Ronnie said. "But hey, at least it was Jamel. Though we'll never hear the end of this, it could've been someone else."

"Like my pops." Lenny said.

"What's so bad about your pops finding you like this?" Ronnie asked.

"Because, I remember, that when I was fourteen or somewhere near that age, he told me that if he ever caught me like this, he'd kill me." Lenny answered.

"I can believe that." Ronnie said with a laugh.

"Hey, the movie's over!" Lenny said.

"What's coming on next?" Ronnie asked.

"Finding Nemo." Lenny answered.

"Finding Nemo? I thought this was the scary movie channel!"

"It must be a TV. error on this channel, so they put on Finding Nemo."

"Could be."

The two looked at the TV, waiting for the movie to come on.

"Sooo…" Lenny began, "Since we'll be stuck like this for a while… you wanna talk?"

_Scene Change_

Rueben stared nervously at the fish who were staring at him.

"The jig is up." He whispered to Ernie and Bernie. "Let's get outta here!"

The three swam out the restaurant as if the devilfish himself was on their tail.

"I knew they seemed familiar." Angie said. Then she turned to Oscar. "Anything else you want to say? For example, why you're still keeping your lie even though you know it's making your friends sad?"

"Sorry Angie, but you're just not good enough for me to give up this lie yet…" Noticing the angry and hurt look on Angie's face, he quickly added, "Wait! I didn't mean it like that…!"

Angie cut him off. "You know, what that angry fish did to Rueben doesn't seem like a bad idea right now." She said angrily. She took her glass of champagne and poured it over Oscar's head.

As Oscar sat in his chair in shock, Angie swam out the restaurant crying.

Rueben swam in the alley, with Ernie and Bernie by his side.

"Your 'master plan' didn't work Rube." Ernie said.

"How was I supposed to know that that guy was going to melt my costume?" Rueben said. "He almost short circuited my keyboard." He added, patting his keyboard.

"Will you guys stop arguing and listen?" Bernie said.

"Listen to what?" Ernie and Rueben asked.

"Shhh!" Bernie shushed. "Listen!"

The three listened, and heard the sound of crying.

"Angie!" They all whispered. They saw Angie dash by the alley they were in in tears.

"I wonder what happened." Ernie said.

"Yeah." Bernie said. "Well sorry Rube, we've gotta go take this paint off. See ya tomorrow." And with that, Ernie and Bernie swam home.

Rueben decided to swim home too. When he got to his apartment, he was lost in his thoughts. _'There's gotta be something Oscar did to make Angie cry like that.' _Rueben thought. _'I've never seen her cry before. I'm gonna figure out what he did to make her want to move away.' _

Rueben swam into his apartment, climbing into his bed. He was tired; trying to get your friends back together is hard work. Just as he was about to go to sleep, another thing popped into his mind.

'_Lenny! I've gotta get them back together or Angie's new boyfriend will keep them apart and they'll never speak to each other again!' _With that last thought, Rueben drifted into a restless sleep.

_Scene Change_

"Okay, so when I was three, I visited my grandma in Puerto Rico. I remember that she had this big Victorian styled ship and a chandelier in her parlor. There was a big garden out in her backyard, and I'd always go out there to play in it."

"Wow, really?" Lenny asked.

"Yeah. Man, I miss being three." Ronnie said with a sigh.

Lenny and Ronnie were stuck together, and they had nothing else to do, so they just talked. They also watched Finding Nemo.

"How old are you now?" Lenny asked.

"Nineteen." Ronnie answered. "I'll be twenty two days after the end of the month."

"July second?" Lenny asked.

"Yeah." Ronnie said. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-one." Lenny said. "Not turning twenty-two 'till November."

"Cool." Ronnie said.

"So, do you have a job?" Lenny asked.

"Used to." Ronnie said. "I got fired."

"Why?" Asked Lenny.

"Well…" Ronnie began.

_Flashback_

_Ronnie floated behind the camera crew, getting extremely annoyed. A news reporter named Teresa was talking about boring stuff._

"_That's it." Ronnie said to herself. She went over to where Teresa was and snatched the microphone out of her hand. _

"_We interrupt this program for a special announcement!" Ronnie said. "Down in the ghetto, people are shootin' each other! They've got AK-47's and Saturday Night guns! For those of ya'll who don't know what Saturday Night guns are, it goes like this; Saturday Night guns are like Saturday night. You know when it's comin', but you can't stop it! People in that part of the ghetto are dodging bullets left and right! It's dangerous but, you have to admit, it's pretty badass.'_

_End Flashback_

"After that, the boss fired me." Ronnie concluded.

"You did that?" Lenny asked in amusement. "Ha ha ha!"

"Yeah, I can laugh at it now, but back than, I was mad." Ronnie said.

"Yeah, there are a lot of things you can laugh at later on in life." Lenny said.

"Yeah." Ronnie said. "Ooh, wait! I like this part of the movie!"

The two turned towards the TV and saw the part of the movie with the sharks.

"This is my favorite part of the movie!" Lenny exclaimed.

"Yeah! Mine too!" Ronnie said. "It used to be a tie between the sharks and the turtle, but I chose the sharks."

"Yeah." Lenny said. Without thinking, he added, "You have beautiful eyes."

"What?" Ronnie asked, a look of confusion on her face. "Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"Oh! It was nothing important!" Lenny said quickly, a blush beginning to form on his face.

"Okay." Ronnie said with a shrug. Then, her face lighted up. "Hey Lenny! I think I know how to get us unstuck!"

"Really? How?" Lenny asked.

"Easy. I'll just take this knife that's on the table…" Ronnie began, picking up the knife.

"Umm, Ronnie?" Lenny asked nervously. "What're you gonna do with that knife?"

"You'll see." Ronnie said with a smile. She held the knife as if she was about to cut Lenny's stomach open.

Lenny was sweating nervously. What was she going to do with that knife.

"Now hold still." Ronnie said, about to let the knife touch Lenny's skin.

In less than a moment, Lenny slipped out from under Ronnie.

"Don't come anywhere near me with that knife." Lenny panted, backed up against the wall.

Ronnie smiled and put the knife down. "I told you I could get us un-stuck." She said.

Lenny stared at Ronnie with a confused look on his face. Then it was all beginning to come together. "So you mean…"

"Yep." Ronnie said with a smile.

"When you got the knife…"

"Uh-huh."

"You knew that…"

"That's right."

Lenny stared at Ronnie for a moment before saying, "You're single right?"

Ronnie laughed and said playfully, "No. And I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that question."

"He doesn't have to know." Lenny said playfully.

Ronnie laughed and said, "Okay Casanova, let's just watch the movie. I don't wanna miss the turtle; I've already missed most of the part with the sharks."

So, the two sharks (a.k.a. lovebirds) went to watch the movie.

_TBC…_

_Awwwww, isn't that sweet? What's gonna happen next? Will Lenny and Ronnie ever hook up? Will Angie still move out her apartment? Will Rueben find out about Oscar's secret? And what about Markie? What's he gonna do? _

_Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie!_

_R&R mates._

_And, if you read this, and you don't review, then shame on you. Shame, shame, shame… shame. _


	8. OH MY GOD! LENNY'S GONE OOC!

_Author's Note: Hey mates, I'm back. And since I don't feel like recapping everything or typing a disclaimer, I won't. But there's one thing I have to say. In big, bold letters, you'll see a warning. You'll understand what the warning is about when you read it. But for now, some shout-outs!_

**Xdoggrealoaded88: I'm glad you think the part about Saturday night guns was funny… and I'm listening to Green Day's 'Holiday' while typing this…**

**The Crouching Tiger Shark: Of course I wouldn't mind if you drew a picture of that. I'm glad you updated your profile page… you got a description of Rueben and Marcus and that other guy… I hope this means you'll update your story soon…**

**Insane Pirate Dragon: He sure won't be keepin' his scheme to himself… :)**

**Lav'O'Dolphin: I'm glad you thought that image was funny… I can't get it out of my head. Yup, she scared him off her with a knife… that is cold blooded… mwahahaha… **

_Okay, in this chappie, a lot of things are goin' to be happenin'. This chappie will SHOCK you. And like the last chappie, this chappie will feature a sharp object… that's what the warning is about…_

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Eight: Secrets Revealed**

Lenny swam off to that new ship, just to get a glance of it. He couldn't wait to get that money to get the ship; if he got the money at all. There was a chance that he wouldn't win the prize. But he would try his best, and at least that would give him satisfaction.

"Hey lover boy."

Lenny turned around to see Andre grinning at him.

"Hey Andre." Lenny said with a smile. "What's with the lover boy thing?"

"You know what I'm talkin' 'bout." Andre said, still grinning. "Jamel told me about what happened last night."

Lenny stared at Andre before getting what he meant. "Nothing happened!" Lenny said.

"Mmm, hmm." Andre said, not believing what Lenny had said. "My parents said the same thing when they were engaged to be married, and a year later after their wedding, I was born."

"It was an accident." Lenny said.

"I being born wasn't an accident." Andre said.

"No, not that!" Lenny said. "What happened to me!"

"Oh." Andre said. "And sorry buddy, but I don't believe you. You don't get in positions like that on accident."

"It was an accident!" Lenny said. "You see, there was this pizza…"

"So you got dinner and got to be part of a show?" Andre said, grinning.

"No!" Lenny said, blushing. "There was this pizza, and the cheese was sticky, so Ronnie got stuck trying to get a slice, and when I tried to pull her off the pizza, I got stuck too."

"That still doesn't explain anything." Andre said.

"So after we were stuck, we heard a scream from the TV, got scared, and tumbled over." Lenny said. "We couldn't get up 'cause we were stuck like that. About a few seconds later, Jamel came in. Nothing happened, Jamel just came in and started laughing. That's it."

"Okay." Andre said, trying to analyze all this. "So you're telling me, that you want me to believe that you two got stuck together with sticky cheese. Then, you want me to believe, that you heard a random scream from the TV, and fell on the couch?"

"Yeah!" Lenny said, nodding his head.

"Pscht!" Andre scoffed. "Yeah right!"

"But it's true." Lenny said.

"Uh huh." Andre said in an unbelieving tone. "You know what you were doing. And your story doesn't make any sense. How'd you hear a scream from the TV, right when you were stuck with Ronnie?"

"We were watching a scary movie!" Lenny said.

"Riiiiiight." Andre said, grinning. "But, since I think that everyone needs to state their case, I've got a question that'll probably make me believe your story… if you answer right."

"Well what is it?" Lenny asked.

"Did you try to get off her?" Andre asked.

Lenny stared at Andre. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. He couldn't seem to find to answer. After two more times of opening and closing his mouth, and blushing, Lenny gave up.

Andre noticed Lenny's expression and his grin became larger than ever. "Oooh." He said like a little kid. "Oooh, Lenny, you're in trouble."

"Shut up." Lenny said, glaring at him.

"Sorry, but since I wasn't there, and you didn't answer the question, it doesn't seem like your story turns out to be true." Andre said, still grinning.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up." Lenny mumbled.

"So, how'd you get 'unstuck'?" Andre asked, putting quotations on unstuck. "Get tired of each other or something?"

"No!" Lenny said, glaring daggers at Andre. "She scared me off with a knife."

Andre stared at Lenny before breaking out in uncontrollable laughter. "She scared you off with a knife?" He said between breaths. "That's cold blooded!"

"Yeah, but it worked." Lenny said, smiling. "Hey, where's Jamel?"

"I dunnow. He said he was hiding from you." Andre said thoughtfully. "I wonder why?"

"Because he was the one who delivered the pizza." Lenny answered.

Andre stared at Lenny. "Now I can believe your pizza story." He said.

Lenny smiled, but he smiled too soon, because Andre added,

"But I still don't believe that nothing happened."

"Shoot!" Lenny muttered under his breath.

"'Sup Andre!"

Andre and Lenny turned around to see Jamel swimming towards them.

"Hey Andre, you seen Lenny…" He paused when he saw Lenny floating right next to Andre, his fins crossed.

'_Oh snap!' _Jamel thought.

"Hi Lenny." Jamel said nervously. "I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah." Lenny said, a smile on his face. His smile disappeared when he added, "I'm gonna kill you."

Jamel let out a high pitched scream and began to swim for his life.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

Andre just watched as Lenny chased Jamel around in circles. _'Man, that guy is fast.'_ He thought.

It was only a few moments later before Lenny had caught Jamel and tackled him to the sea floor.

"Say… you're… sorry!" Lenny said.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just let me up!" Jamel said, struggling to get out of Lenny's grip.

"Not until you also promise me a free pizza!" Lenny said.

"All right! You'll get a free pizza!" Jamel shouted.

"A free non-sticky pizza?" Lenny asked.

"Yes!" Jamel said.

"Okay then." Lenny said, letting Jamel up.

"Dang man, that was mean." Jamel said, brushing off his shoulders. He paused for a moment before he smiled and added, "Making me miss a tip just because I walked in on you and your girlfriend…"

Lenny let out a growl of frustration. "Will you guys stop saying that?"

Jamel and Andre looked at each other before chorusing, "No."

"Well stop saying it anyway!" Lenny said. "She's not my girlfriend." He had to stop himself before he added 'yet.'

"Okay, we're sorry." Andre said sincerely, though his face still held a smile. "We'll try not to tease you… as much. But you know you'll never hear the end of this, right?"

"Oh brother." Lenny said as he rolled his eyes.

"Ooh!" Jamel suddenly said. "Speaking of brothers, my bro came to visit me this morning! I told him I'd let him meet you guys later on!"

"Cool." Andre said. "My brother lives far away from here, but he sometimes visits. What about you Lenny?"

Lenny stared at his two friends, sadness in his eyes. "My brother's dead." He said slowly.

"Oh." Jamel and Andre said.

"Sorry 'bout that." Jamel said.

"It's okay. You didn't know." Lenny said, looking at the ground.

"I'm still sorry. It's sad to have one of your family members die like that. I remember when my grandma passed away." Jamel said.

There was a long silence, then Andre spoke up. "I've gotta go get my video game finished. I'm almost done." Andre swam away to his apartment in haste.

"Sorry to leave you alone like this, but…" Jamel began.

"But Mr. Jetty will bust a vein if you're late?" Lenny finished for him.

"Actually I was going to say that he'd kick my butt, but that'll work too." Jamel said, swimming towards the pizza place. "See ya later Len!"

Lenny swam back towards Ronnie's ship, feeling depressed. He was still sad over Frankie's death. He didn't blame himself for his death, but someone else did…

_Scene Change_

Rueben swam up to Angie's door, trying not to back out. He was going to ask her why she wouldn't forgive Oscar for whatever he did. He had seen her mad at Oscar before, but never for this long. Gathering up all the courage in his brightly colored body, he knocked on Angie's door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Rueben."

Angie opened up the door and saw Rueben smiling nervously. "Well if it isn't my old friend 'Jacques.'

Rueben gave a slight chuckle. "Yeah. Listen… can I come in?"

"Are you going to eat all my ice pops like the last time?"

"No."

"Then you can come in."

Rueben swam into Angie's apartment. "Listen…" He began, "I'm sorry if I trickled you like that. I didn't know it was gonna end like it did."

"Mmm hmm." Angie said. "Why'd you do it?"

"Because…" Rueben mumbled, "…Because I was trying to get you and Oscar back together."

Angie looked at Rueben before she began laughing. Rueben looked surprised; apparently, he wasn't expecting this reaction.

"You always were the one who tried to get friends back together." She said with a smile. Her smile disappeared as she added with a sigh, "But I don't think you can fix this problem."

"Well why not?" Rueben asked with a look of confusion.

"Because, Rueben, this problem is worse than all the other ones." Angie explained. "It's not a tiny problem like if someone tears up your picture in Kindergarten, you can always draw another one. This problem is bigger."

"What is it?" Rueben asked.

"You'll have to ask Oscar." Angie said. "He's got the whole story."

"Oh, okay." Rueben said. "I guess I'll go do that then."

Rueben swam out of Angie's apartment, heading for Oscar's.

'_What could he do that would possibly make them break up like that?' _Rueben thought. He sighed. "I guess I'm about to find out."

_Scene Change_

Oscar was sitting on his couch, watching TV. There was really nothing on, but watching TV was the only thing to keep his mind occupied off Angie.

"Oscar! Oscar, open up!"

Oscar sighed and swam over to the door. He opened the door and saw Rueben looking at him with a concerned face.

"What is it Rueben?" Oscar asked.

"You've gotta tell me what happened that made you and Angie mad at each other!" Rueben said.

"Sorry Rube." Oscar said. "You're my friend and all but… I just can't explain this to ya. Sorry." He was closing the door when Rueben said,

"But you have to tell me!" Rueben said. "If you don't fix this mess, then her new boyfriend Lenny will get her!"

That grabbed Oscar's attention. He opened up the door and said, "Lenny?"

"Yeah, Lenny!" Rueben said. "Why, d'you know him?"

Oscar pulled Rueben into his apartment. "Okay, what do ya know?"

"Whoa, whoa, hold it!" Rueben said. "I'm not sayin' anything until you tell me how you know Lenny!"

Oscar sighed. "All right, I'll tell you how I know him. But you'll find out that how I know him is connected to why Angie hates me."

"Okay, I'll be learning about her new boyfriend and about why you're fighting." Rueben said. "Go on."

"First of all," Oscar began, "Lenny isn't Angie's new boyfriend; he's not even a fish. He's a shark."

_Scene Change_

**WARNING! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE LENNY GO OOC, THEN KEEP SCROLLING DOWN UNTIL YOU SEE THE BOLD LETTERS THAT SAY IT'S SAFE! THIS INVOLVES A SHARP POINTY OBJECT! READ IT IF YOU WANT, BUT IF NOT, KEEP ON SCROLLING!**

Lenny swam into Ronnie's ship. He headed straight for the bathroom, but left the door open. He was feeling depressed.

'_I know it's not my fault he died,' _Lenny thought, _'But why do I still feel so sad?'_

'_Because,' _a voice said in his head, _'even though you don't blame yourself, someone else does…'_

Lenny felt even more sad as he remembered overhearing his pops a few minutes after Frankie's funeral…

_Flashback_

_Lenny swam outside the ship, about to run away. He was going to keep swimming, but he heard his pop's voice from outside the window in his office. Putting his ear to the window, Lenny listened closely. _

"_Why did he have to die?" Lino was saying to himself. "He was perfect; perfect! And Lenny; he's just too different. It's at times where I wonder what would've happened if Lenny had moved. Maybe then, Frankie wouldn't be dead."_

_Lenny pulled his ear away from the window, unable to listen anymore. Tears stung his eyes and prevented him from seeing. Lenny swam away from the ship as fast as he could. Taking one last glance back, he whispered,_

"_I'm sorry pops." _

_End Flashback_

Tears rolled down Lenny's cheeks. The memory was still fresh in his mind, and it hurt him every time he thought of it.

'_Then I met Oscar.' _He thought. _'I thought I had actually made a friend… boy, was I proven wrong. He didn't confess his secret at the end, kept up his act on me, and then after that… I wasn't able to go back home.'_

Lenny looked at himself in the mirror.

'_I wonder if the rest of the mafia are thinking of me. They probably think that I couldn't make it. I mean, look at me. I'm not exactly one of those muscular guys. And I'm not exactly a born hunter. But I think they probably have some hope in me. If there was one thing they all agreed on, it was that I had the brains of the family. I miss those guys… especially my friend Cody. He always stuck up for me, and even though he knew I was a vegetarian and laughed at it when I told him, he still liked me for it.' _

Lenny was deep in his thoughts, feeling extremely depressed. He glanced at the counter in the bathroom and saw a razor…

_Scene Change_

Ronnie was in the kitchen, about to get a glass of lemonade, when she stopped.

'_I smell blood…' _She thought. _'And it's coming from the bathroom!'_

She rushed towards the bathroom and gasped at the sight. Lenny was leaning against the bathroom counter, unconscious, and blood floated in the water beside him.

"Oh no." Ronnie whispered.

She dragged Lenny towards his room, and placed him in bed. As she watched him lying there, she thought, _'How'd that happen?' _She got her answer. Looking closer, she saw a huge gash on Lenny's fins, red with blood. She swam back to the bathroom and noticed that a razor blade was also red.

'_Why Lenny?' _She thought. _'Why'd you do it? Don't you care that you've got friends that'll miss you?'_

Ronnie didn't feel like drinking lemonade anymore.

**OKAY! YOU CAN READ IT NOW! IT'S SAFE! **

_Scene Change_

Rueben stared at Oscar with wide eyes. "What?"

"I said that Lenny was a shark." Oscar said. "You see, this is what happened. I took Lenny in after he ran away from home. He was Don Lino's other kid and… he didn't feel appreciated."

"So Angie doesn't like you because you took Lenny in?" Rueben asked. "Why'd you take him in anyway? Aren't you supposed to be…?"

"Yeah, supposed to be." Oscar said. "And Ang doesn't hate me because I took Lenny in. She hates me because I lied."

"Lied?" Rueben asked. "About what?"

"About everything." Oscar said. "I'm not really the shark slayer Rueben. I was an Anchor that killed the guy."

Rueben stared at Oscar in disbelief. "But… what about… that fight scene…"

"It was all organized." Oscar answered. "Lenny helped me with it and let me win. I got to keep my fame as a shark slayer, and Lenny got to disappear from his old life."

"And… at the whale wash…"

"That was the only thing that was real." Oscar said. "But this is the main reason why Ang hates me. A while ago from that time, Angie said that she liked me the way I was before. But… I didn't give up my lie, and it made her feel like she wasn't good enough."

"So… it was all a sham?" Rueben said in a whisper.

"Yeah." Oscar said. "I'm sorry Rube."

Rueben couldn't believe it. He thought the whole thing was real. He remembered that he wasn't the only one feeling dejected; there was Angie, who felt worse than he did. He glared at Oscar.

"I can't believe you. After all those times Ang helped you out, and even after she told you her true feelings… you let her down. You're a fake." Rueben said.

"But Rueben…"

"Don't but Rueben me!" Rueben spat back. "You're nothing but a lie! I thought you were a real shark slayer! Every time I asked you about what you did, I now know that everything you said was a lie!"

"Rueben… you're my friend…"

"_Used_ to be your friend." Rueben said icily. "And even if I was your friend, friends have to draw the line sometime. And you, Oscar, have crossed the line."

Oscar didn't say anything. He just looked at the floor like a little kid does after they got in trouble.

Rueben headed for the door. Before he left, he turned around and said, "You know Oscar, I've always looked up to you. I just wish I could say the same right now." And with that, Rueben left.

Oscar stared at the door.

'_Oscar, you idiot!' _his conscious screamed. _'You just lost another friend, and it's all your fault! Go tell everybody the truth! And start by going to Angie!'_

"Shut up." Oscar said to himself. "I'm just havin' a bad day. I guess I'll take a nap." So, Oscar went upstairs to his room to take a nap, completely ignoring the fact that he had caused his friends so much pain.

_Scene Change_

Lenny woke up in a bed. He tried to sit up, but was overcome with dizziness.

"Hey there Lenny."

Lenny turned to see Ronnie beside his side.

"Hey Ronnie." Lenny said with a weak smile.

"Are you okay?" Ronnie asked.

"I guess so." Lenny answered.

"Good." Ronnie said. In a flash, Ronnie punched his fin, careful not to reopen the cut.

"Oww!" Lenny said, grabbing his fin. "It's not okay to hit!"

"Yeah, well it's not okay to worry your friend either!" Ronnie said. "How long has this been going on?"

"How long has what been going on?" Lenny asked.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Lenny winced at the harshness in Ronnie's voice; and at the pain that shot through him. He remembered what had happened in the bathroom.

"Well?" Ronnie asked, crossing her fins.

"I just started." Lenny answered.

"Oh, well that's made me feel better, I know that you've just started." Ronnie said sarcastically.

"Ronnie…" Lenny began.

"¿Qué está equivocado con usted? ¿Cómo podría hacer usted una esa cosa?" Ronnie shouted in Spanish. (What's wrong with you? How could you do a thing like that?)

"Ronnie…"

"Usted sabe lo que está como ver a su amigo que yaciendo en el piso, la sangre por todas partes, no instruido si él está vivo?" (You know what it's like to see your friend lying on the floor, blood everywhere, not knowing if he's alive?)

"Ronnie…"

"Por supuesto usted hace no! ¡Porque mientras preocupaba, usted decidía suicidarse!" (Of course you don't! Because while I was worrying, you were deciding to commit suicide!)

"I wasn't trying to commit suicide!" Lenny said.

Lenny was able to understand everything Ronnie said because she taught him some Spanish, knew some Spanish words all ready, and since she spoke Spanish sometimes, he understood her.

"Oh really? Well what were you doing then?" Ronnie asked, switching back to English. "Playing a nice game of 'Let's see how far I can slice myself open before I hit something vital?"

"No." Lenny said.

"Well what were you doing then?" Ronnie asked.

Lenny looked at Ronnie, but then looked away. "I… I don't know."

"You know what you did." Ronnie said, her voice cracking. "You sliced your fins."

Lenny looked into Ronnie's eyes and saw that she wasn't mad at him anymore. She was hurt.

"Yeah…" Lenny said. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you cared…"

"What d'you mean you didn't know I cared?" Ronnie said. "I've always cared! I've cared about you since I first met you! Now… I don't anymore." And with that last comment, Ronnie dashed out the door.

Lenny sat up in his bed, sad and surprised. Ronnie's confession had caught him off guard.

'_She does like me.' _Lenny thought. _'She really cared about me all this time… and I made her sad.' _

Lenny plopped back down on his bed, overcome by dizziness. Growling in frustration, he grabbed his pillow and buried his head under it.

'_Man! I'm such an idiot!' _Lenny thought as he took his head from under the pillow and began to hug it. _'I have to find a way to make it up to her…'_

Too dizzy to even think, Lenny drifted off to sleep…

_TBC…_

_Rueben found out about Oscar's secret… but who cares about that. LENNY CUT HIMSELF? What's gonna happen now? Is he gonna cut himself again? What's Oscar gonna do? Now that Lenny knows how Ronnie feels about him, what's he gonna do? Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie. _

_R&R pleez!_


	9. Chocolate sauce and doctors!

_Author's Note: I'm back! I mean, hey, I couldn't leave you clueless. A'ight, so in da last chappie, Lenny went suicidal and Oscar lost a friend. Now, in this chappie, Oscar has to deal with Katie Current and Lenny has to suck up to Ronnie… _

**Xdoggreloaded88- I don't think Katie Current would slap him… I think she'd go MATRIX on him. Even though that comment about Lenny was mean, I had to laugh at it. Plus, that 'man up' comment gave me an idea for the chapter title! And a line in this chappie! Thanx!**

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Yeah, Lenny's a stupid head. You'll see how he sucks up to her… and it's sad how nobody knows what they have until it's gone.**

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Yay, I had a lot of good lines in the last chappie! (Dances) Oscar's friends are dropping like flies, so he'll have to make knew friends… cough, the shrimp, cough Yeah, Ronnie telling Lenny that she didn't care for him anymore was a bad thing to do… maybe he will cut himself again…**

_This chappie shall have another warning in it… you'll see what it's warning you about… phew… the longest chappie I've written so far…_

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Nine: Manning Up**

Oscar swam through the city, looking for something to do. His friends were dropping like flies; the only friends he had left were the Shorties, but they weren't as old as him. Not that he minded having those young kids for friends, but if he ever wanted to talk about grown up things, they wouldn't understand.

'_What am I supposed to do?' _Oscar thought.

Suddenly, a scream was heard. All fish heads turned to the scene.

"That building's about to fall!" A lady screamed.

Oscar looked towards the building the lady was pointing to. He saw a shrimp cowering beneath its shadow.

'_Oh no!' _Oscar thought. _'That building's gonna fall on that shrimp! Even if he was trying to swim away, he couldn't make it on time!'_

Not knowing what he was doing, Oscar swam towards the collapsing building and pushed the shrimp out the way. The building didn't kill the shrimp or Oscar, but it did get Oscar's fin, though he didn't notice it. Amazed fish stared at the shrimp and Oscar.

"You saved my life." The shrimp said.

Oscar stared away from the shrimp, surprised that at what he had just did. "Yeah."

"You're a good person." The shrimp said, looking up at Oscar.

"Excuse me… pardon me…"

Oscar could see a fish trying to push its way through the crowd. _'Oh no.' _Oscar thought. _'It can't be…'_

"Move it!"

The fish had finally pushed her way through the crowd.

"Hello. This is Katie Current, keeping it current." Katie announced. "And we are here with former shark slayer Oscar. As we've just seen, he's just saved a shrimp from becoming squished!"

'_Great.' _Oscar thought. He didn't feel like being bothered by Katie this morning.

_Scene Change_

It was daytime in the all-carnivorous city. Lenny dashed out Ronnie's ship, heading for Andre's apartment. Andre had just finished his video game, and Jamel and Lenny were invited to be the first ones to play it. But Lenny's mind just wasn't on video games at that time. His mind was on Ronnie, and he decided to get help. He wasn't going to get anybody's help though, no, he was going to get help from… Jamel.

'_I'm never gonna hear the end of this.' _Lenny thought as he knocked on Andre's door. _'But at least it's worth getting teased for.'_

Andre opened his door. "Hey Lenny, you're the first one here."

"Actually, I think it's a tie."

Lenny literally jumped five feet into the air, looking startled.

"Calm down, it's just me."

Lenny floated back down to look into Jamel's face. "Jeez man," Lenny said, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry." Jamel said. "Now, what's the game they had you workin' on?"

"Swim inside and you shall see." Andre said.

Lenny and Jamel followed Andre into his apartment. There, right in the middle of the whole house, was a big screen TV, with a long purple couch a few feet away from it. Beside the TV was a green cube with three controllers.

"Wow." Jamel and Lenny chorused.

"Yeah." Andre said, nodding his head. "Cool, ain't it?"

"I wish I had an apartment like this!" Jamel explained.

"Yeah." Lenny said. "This place is cool!"

"Mmm, hmm." Andre said. "But enough about how cool my house is, let's play the game already!"

Jamel and Lenny grabbed two controllers while Andre grabbed the remaining one and turned the game on. While the credits were playing, Andre said,

"Okay, so this is what the game is mostly about. You have to make your way out this cave without dying."

"All right…" Jamel said.

"It's better than it sounds." Andre said. "You can get new fight moves and you have to defeat these monsters…"

"I'm all over it now!" Jamel shouted.

"Let's play!" Lenny said.

The game came on, and the three friends began to play. Lenny seemed to be thinking about something, and Andre noticed this.

"Hey Len, you okay?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Lenny said. "I just… don't you guys have to go to work?"

"Naw, we got the week off." Jamel said. "But by the look on your face, that's not the only question you wanted to ask. You've got something else on your mind, Lenny."

"Okay…" Lenny said. "Here's the thing… I need some help. And you guys have to help me out with this."

"I think I know what you need help with." Andre said with a slight smile. "It's Ronnie, ain't it?"

"Yes." Lenny said, looking at the floor.

"I knew it." Jamel said, snapping his fins.

"You didn't know anything!" Andre said. "So, Lenny, what's wrong?"

"Ronnie's mad at me." He said.

"What?" Jamel asked. "What did you do?"

Lenny stared at the ground.

"I see." Andre said. "You don't wanna say why 'cause it's personal."

Lenny nodded his head, never taking his eyes off the floor.

"Okay, so how mad is she?" Andre asked.

"She won't talk to me, look at me, and every time I try to say sorry, she ignores me and goes somewhere else." Lenny answered.

"Dang!" Jamel shouted. "What did you do man?"

Lenny started to twiddle his fins and Andre glared at Jamel for his insensitivity. "All right," Andre said, "If you wanna get her back, you have to do something special."

"Yeah," Jamel said, "but seeing as I am the intensive one of the group, I can't suggest anything but a flower."

Lenny thought for a moment. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Wait Jamel, you can help!" He said, looking up from the floor.

"How?" Jamel asked.

"Remember when I tackled you down and made you promise to get me a 'non-sticky' pizza?" Lenny asked excitedly.

"How could I forget?" Jamel said.

"Well, you can help me get a pizza for her!" Lenny finished.

"A pizza?" Andre said. "Lenny, if you get her a pizza, she'll just be madder at you."

"No, not a regular pizza!" Lenny said. "A special one!"

"You mean the house special?" Jamel asked stupidly.

"No, he means a special one!" Andre said, knowing what Lenny meant by that. "He probably wants to write a message on it or something."

"Yeah, that's right!" Lenny said.

"So what're you thinking about?" Andre asked.

Lenny whispered something into Andre's ear, making Jamel confused.

"That's a great idea!" Andre said.

"What?" Jamel asked. "What's a great idea?"

Lenny whispered his plan into Jamel's ear.

"Oh." Jamel said. "You wouldn't mind if I charged you a clam, would ya?"

"Yes I would mind, because you promised it would be for free." Lenny said.

"I never should've promised it for free." Jamel muttered.

"Too late, 'cause you already did." Lenny said, sticking out his tongue. "And what were you saying about flowers?"

"You could get her a flower." Jamel said while shrugging. "Ya know, an orchid or something like that."

"Yeah… thanks Jamel." Lenny said.

"No problem… lover boy." Jamel said.

"That's why I killed your character." Lenny said.

Jamel looked at the screen and saw that the part of the game with his character on it was flashing red and had big, floaty words that said, 'Game Over.'

"Aww man!" Jamel shouted. "You killed me off!"

"So did I." Andre said with a grin.

"You mean… you two teamed up?" Jamel asked.

"Yup." Lenny said.

"That ain't right!" Jamel said.

Lenny and Andre just hi-finned each other and kept playing the video game.

_Scene Change_

Oscar watched as Katie shoved the microphone into his face.

"So, Oscar, what did you feel as you saved this guy from the crumbling building?"

"Uhh… scared." Oscar said truthfully.

"Amazing." Katie said. "He was scared, but he still saved that guy!"

"It was nothing." Oscar said, trying to get out of the cameras.

"Would you have saved him from a burning building?" Katie asked.

"No." Oscar said.

"So you've got a fear a fire?" Katie asked.

"It's not that." Oscar said. "In case you haven't noticed, Katie, there can't be fire underwater."

"Oh." Katie said, trying to recover from her question. "Right. So, there are some rumors going around about how you're having 'girl trouble.'"

"I'm not having girl trouble." Oscar lied. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

"But isn't it true that you've broke up with Lola?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, but it's not any trouble." Oscar said. "Now, if you could just…"

Crazy Joe popped out of nowhere and shouted, "You're crazy man! I would've kept that girl! She may be a backstabber, but she's a HOT backstabber!"

"So she backstabbed you?" Katie said. "I see. Any chance of you two getting back together?"

"No." Oscar said in an annoyed tone.

"Okay." Katie. "So you've got another girl now?"

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean… what is up with all these questions?" Oscar said in a frustrated way.

"I'm a news reporter, it's my job to ask questions." Katie answered simply. "So you're single?"

"Yeah." Oscar said.

"Would you mind dating me?" Katie asked.

"You want the truth or a lie?" Oscar said. "'Cause while the truth might hurt you, it'll also keep me out of dating you."

Oscar's comment earned snickers from nearby fish, which made Katie mad.

"Well, I guess I'll go back to other more important news." Katie huffed.

"You do that." Oscar said. He turned to go, but a sharp pain stopped him. "Oww!" he shouted.

"Oh my god!" Katie shouted. "The shark slayer is in need of a medic!"

The last thing Oscar remembered was the wailing of sirens and sounds of worried fish. Everything after that turned blank.

_Scene Change_

_Beep… beep… beep…_

The sound of that medical thingy (ya know, that thingy with the green line that goes up and down, and goes beep? I don't know what it's called.) rang throughout the room.

'_Oh… where am I?' _

Oscar found himself in the clean, starched sheets of a medical bed. He heard the hushed voices of nurses and the sound of wheels rolling through the hallways.

"What the heck am I doing here?" Oscar said to himself.

"Ah, Mr. Oscar. I see that you've awakened."

Oscar jumped five feet out his bed and buried himself under his covers and pillow.

"Oscar, don't be scared. It's just me."

Oscar peeked his head out from the pillow and saw himself staring at a blue fish in a white coat.

"Dr. Finn!" Oscar said. "You scared me!"

"Sorry about that Oscar." Dr. Finn said. "But you're probably wondering why you're here."

"I sure am." Oscar said.

"Well, it was said that you saved this shrimp from a building." Dr. Finn said in that professional voice doctors always use. "It seems that your fin was hit by the building, shoving a shard of glass into it. You didn't notice it at first because it wasn't poking anything, like it was when you fell down. When the medics came, the shard of glass was poking something in your fin, causing internal bleeding. So, we had to get that glass out your fin, which took seven hours."

"Seven hours?" Oscar shouted. He looked at his clock, which said eight 'o'clock pm.

"Shhh, you'll wake up the other patients!" Dr. Finn scolded. "And yes, it took seven hours. You kept thrashing about, so we had to give you heavier sleeping gas, and the shard of glass wouldn't come out that easily."

"Well this sucks." Oscar mumbled.

Dr. Finn laughed and said, "Yes, it does suck, but we've got a visitor for you."

Dr. Finn opened the door and Angie stepped into the room.

"Ang?" Oscar said.

"I'll be leaving now." Dr. Finn said as he exited the room.

Angie swam over to Oscar's bed. "Hi Oscar." She said.

"Hi." Oscar said. "Why're you here? I thought you hated me."

"I do hate you." Angie admitted. "But that doesn't mean I won't visit a hurt friend."

Oscar chuckled. "You're a saint Ang."

"Yeah well…" Angie said, "it's how I am. I just came to see if you were doing okay. I'll leave now."

"Wait, Ang!" Oscar said. "Don't go."

"Why not?" Angie said. "There's nothing I have to say."

"Well I have to say somethin'." Oscar said. "Thanks."

"Thanks?" Angie question. "For what?"

"For comin' to see me, even though you're still mad and hurt." Oscar replied. "You could've just stayed at home, but you still came. Even after I told you that you weren't good enough for me to not keep my lie, and, to make a long story short, hurt you in a lot of ways, you still came. That's very nice of you Ang… but I'm still keeping my lie."

"What?" Angie said angrily. "Even after I came here?"

"Well… you didn't have to come here." Oscar said. "And it's not my fault that you're hurt… it's kind of your fault too…"

"How's it my fault Oscar?" Angie said angrily. "For caring about somebody who hurt me?"

"You don't have to care about me." Oscar said, with no emotion at all.

"Well good, because I don't!" Shouted Angie, heading for the door.

"Wait, Ang!" Oscar said. "It's not my fault…"

"Oh, it's never your fault Oscar!" Angie shouted. "You need to stop making all these pitiful excuses and man up!" And with those last words, Angie left, slamming the door behind her.

'_You insensitive jerk!' _Oscar's conscious screamed at him. _'What the hell is wrong with you?' _

But Oscar refused to listen to his conscious. He shrugged it off and dismissed it as thinking too much. When would he learn that it's not thinking too much, it's the truth? When would he finally come to his senses and do what he had to do to get his friends' respect back? Laying his head back down on his pillow, Oscar drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

_Scene Change_

Lenny quietly swam through the door. Peeking his head from around the wall, he saw Ronnie sitting on the couch watching TV. Taking a deep breath, he swam over to the couch.

"Hi Ronnie."

Ronnie turned around and saw Lenny. "Oh, hi Lenny." Getting up, she began to swam away.

'_At least she said something to me.' _Lenny thought. "Ronnie… wait!"

Ronnie stopped and turned around. "What?"

'_She actually stopped!' _"Umm… I wanted to say… ummm…. here." Lenny said, handing her a pizza box and a flower.

"A pizza?" Ronnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Look inside." Lenny said.

Ronnie opened the pizza box, and 'I'm Sorry' was spelled out in shrimparoni. Ronnie stared at the pizza, then looked up at Lenny, who was staring at the floor.

"Lenny…"

Lenny looked up hopefully. "Yeah?" He asked. Lenny looked up just in time to get the pizza smushed in his face. His view was blocked by the mess of sauce and cheese that was covering his head and eyes.

"I already ate." He heard Ronnie say, and though he couldn't see it, he knew she had swam off somewhere.

Feeling dejected, Lenny wiped the sauce and cheese off him, just enough so that he could see. He swam off to the bathroom to wipe off the rest of the pizza. When he had got to the bathroom, he picked up a towel and began to wipe his face and head off. _'I can't believe she did that!' _Lenny thought. _'I don't blame her though.' _

Lenny caught a glance of the razor blade next to him. "It's your fault she hates me now you know." He said to the blade.

'_No it's not. Don't blame a razor for your troubles.' _A voice in his head said. _'It's your fault she hates you, not the razor's. You're the one who was so oblivious to the fact that she liked you, and you're the one who decided to make her hate you by cutting yourself.' _

Lenny had to agree with the voice in his head. Still, he felt sad. Picking up the blade, he stared at it for a few moments, about to cut himself. _'Don't do it Lenny!' _his conscious screamed. _'Don't take the wimp's way out!' _Lenny broke the blade in half and threw it away. He wasn't taking the wimp's way out this time. Lenny swam out the bathroom, looking for Ronnie. He was going to tell her sorry (for the millionth time!) and that he broke the blade. He looked for her everywhere, but he couldn't find her. Just as he was about to gave up, he heard gentle snoring. He realized that he was floating outside Ronnie's bedroom door.

'_Hmm…' _Lenny thought. Opening Ronnie's door, he saw her sleeping beneath light blue sheets. _'She's pretty when she's like this…' _ Tip-finning into Ronnie's room, he stared at her with a smile on his face for a second. Leaning over, he kissed her on the forehead. (Awwwww! Isn't this sweet?) Ronnie rubbed her forehead and stirred slightly. Lenny held his breath.

'_Please don't let her wake up.' _He thought.

Luckily for him, Ronnie didn't wake up. Because if she had, he'd have a lot of explaining to do. So, tip-finning out of Ronnie's room, he closed the door behind him. _'If only she was awake when I did that…'_ he thought. _'Oh well. I guess I'll turn in.'_

So, Lenny swam to his room and dozed off.

_Scene Change_

Lenny woke up in the middle of the night. _'What? I haven't woken up in the middle of the night since… forever!' _

All of a sudden, he heard his stomach growl. "That'll explain why I woke up. I guess a quick midnight snack wouldn't hurt…"

Lenny got up and headed for the kitchen. Just as he was about to go in, he was stopped by the sound of sniffling. Peeking into the kitchen, he saw Ronnie opening the freezer. She seemed upset about something.

He swam into the doorway of the kitchen. "Ronnie…" he began in a small voice.

Ronnie turned around and saw Lenny floating in the doorway. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears were in her eyes. Not answering, Ronnie went back to digging on the freezer.

"Ronnie…" Lenny said, swimming over to her side. "Are you okay?"

"Go away." Ronnie said, her voice matching her mood. "I hate you."

"You don't hate me." Lenny said.

"Yes I do." Ronnie said, looking at the floor.

"Ronnie, look me in the eye and tell me you hate me." Lenny said.

Ronnie looked up at Lenny. She didn't say anything, just sniffled.

"Mmm, hmm." Lenny said. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

"It was a bad dream." Ronnie mumbled, on the verge of tears.

"Okay." Lenny said. "So, what was it…"

"You died, Lenny." Ronnie said in a small voice. "It was because you cut yourself again."

Lenny stared at Ronnie. He was the reason she had that bad dream. "Well you don't have to worry about that anymore." Lenny said with a reassuring smile. "Because I broke the blade."

Ronnie sniffled and looked up at Lenny. "You did?"

"Yes, I did." Lenny said, wiping the tears from Ronnie's eyes. "So… do you still hate me?"

Ronnie smiled. She didn't answer; she hugged him instead, surprising Lenny.

"I'll take that as a no." Lenny said. "So… what were you about to do?"

"I was about to get some ice cream." Ronnie said. "I always get ice cream when I'm sad."

"How about I make you an ice cream sundae?" Lenny asked. "I was gonna get a snack too."

"You're a suck up, you know that, right?" Ronnie asked with a smile.

"I sure do." Lenny said. "Now, do you want an ice cream sundae or not?"

"All right." Ronnie said, heading to the living room. "And I like my ice cream sundae with extra chocolate sauce!" she shouted when she got to the couch.

"Yes!" Lenny whisper-shouted, making a triumphant gesture. "She forgives me!"

_Scene Change_

**WARNING! THIS PART OF THE STORY CONTAINS…. IT CONTAINS… A NEW USE OF CHOCOLATE SAUCE! IF YOU DO NOT LIKE FLUFF AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE, DON'T READ UNTIL YOU SEE SOMETHING SAYING THAT IT'S SAFE! **

Lenny came into the living room, carrying two glass bowls filled to the top with ice cream.

"Excuse me miss," Lenny said, "but I have a special order for Miss Ronnie. Have you seen her?"

Ronnie laughed and said, "Just give me my ice cream."

"Okay." Lenny said, handing her the ice cream bowl. "You did ask for extra chocolate sauce, right?"

"Yeah." Ronnie said.

"Do you know that chocolate can give you headaches and make you hyper? Lenny asked.

"Do you know that chocolate can give you headaches and make you hyper?" Ronnie questioned back.

"Hey! I asked the question first!" Lenny said.

"For every question you ask, you might not get an answer. You might get a question in return." Ronnie said.

Lenny sat down on the couch next to her. "Well, this is something I've never done before."

"What?" Ronnie asked.

"I've never eaten ice cream sundaes in the middle of the night while watching TV." Lenny answered.

"Yeah, well I've never bungee jumped before, but you don't see me broadcasting that." Ronnie said.

"That was mean." Lenny said with feigned sadness.

"Yeah? Well so is this." After Ronnie said that, she took a spoonful of Lenny's ice cream.

"Get your own ice cream!" Lenny said, guarding his ice cream.

"Why? Yours tastes better." Ronnie said in a teasing voice.

"Oh yeah? Well… well…" Lenny paused for a moment before looking at Ronnie. "That's why you've got chocolate sauce all over your mouth."

Ronnie brought a fin to her lips, and when she removed her fin, a drip of chocolate sauce was on it. "I like chocolate sauce, what can I say?" She said, shrugging. "And you've got whipped cream on your nose."

Lenny crossed his eyes to get a glance at his nose. "Where?" he asked.

While Lenny was looking for the whipped cream on his nose, Ronnie stole another spoonful of Lenny's ice cream. Unfortunately, Lenny saw her.

"Hey!" Lenny protested. "Stop stealing my ice cream!"

"Oh, stop acting like a baby and man up!" Ronnie said.

"Man up?" Lenny asked with a smile.

"Yes." Ronnie replied.

"You mean, like this?" Lenny questioned.

"Wha-"

Ronnie was going to talk, but her words were smothered by a kiss. After a few seconds, Lenny broke the kiss. Ronnie just sat there, speechless, and Lenny licked his lips.

"I guess chocolate sauce is good for some things besides headaches and hyperness." Lenny commented. "Do you know how long I wanted to do that?"

Ronnie looked up at Lenny, the stunned expression still on her face. "What… how… why'd you do that?"

"What made you think I wouldn't do that?" Lenny asked.

"Hey, you can't answer back in a question!" Ronnie said.

"For every question you ask, you might not get an answer. You might get a question in return." Lenny said with a smile.

"Touché." Ronnie said, leaning in for another kiss.

So, the two stayed like that, later on falling asleep on the couch, ignoring the fact that their ice cream was melting.

**ALL RIGHT! IT'S SAFE NOW!**

_TBC…_

_Oscar's in the hospital, Katie Current got turned down by him, and Angie's still mad at him. And Lenny didn't cut himself; instead, he gets a kiss! All right! So, what's gonna happen next? Is the mob gonna come into this story? Will Markie come into this story again? Will Jamel and Andre find about the kiss? But over all, what'll happen at the talent show? There's only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie! _

_R&R pleez! _


	10. Who wants to see trouble and reactions?

_Author's Note: Here I am with the next chappie. Oh yeah, and for all of those people who feel that this story should be rated PG, it'll turn into a PG-13 story later on because of cussing, and…. Uh… you'll find out._

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Don't you just wanna go and knock some sense into Oscar… with a big heavy metal baseball bat? Yeah, maybe Lenny will stay out of his slump.(tries to hide laughter) Go big finish in chappie nine… warning… there are more moments like that… and so it's a heart monitor… cool…**

**The Crouching Tiger Shark- Hmm… an EKG monitor… a'ight… Yay, your picture is done! And I hope you post the next chappie of your story soon… and Oscar will be smellin' more than coffee in later chappies… perhaps… the smell of fear? (Hint, hint) Yup, Lenny's a flirtatious Casanova. Yes, he's sleeping with Ronnie, but NOT LIKE THAT... cough, yet, cough. Maybe they do know it… you'll see their reactions… and you know they'll be caught… they'll always be caught in situations like this…**

**Insane Pirate Dragon- (sniff, sniff) Ah, the sweet smell of amor is in the air. Trouble, thy name is Markie…**

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Ten: Reactions**

Jamel and Andre swam towards Ronnie's ship. It was eleven 'o'clock; Lenny had never slept in this late before. Grey shaded shadows reflected off of rocks. The sun was barely able to shine through the heavy coating of fog.

"C'mon Andre, stop bein' a slowpoke!" Jamel called out from behind him.

A few feet away, Andre swam up to Jamel, huffing and puffing. "It's not my fault… you're going… too fast." Andre wheezed.

"Yeah." Jamel said in a boasting tone. "Ya know, I should be the new 'Speedy Gonzales.'"

"Whatever." Andre said, rolling his eyes. "Lemme just take a break…" He leaned on the nearest thing, which just happened to be Ronnie's window. "Hey, we're already here!"

"Wow, I guess we are!" Jamel said. "Now look into the windows and see what they're doing!"

"I don't know…" Andre said hesitantly. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Pscht." Jamel said with a smile. "What's gonna happen? You're gonna look in a find them dancing ballet?"

Andre crossed his fins. "Remember what happened when you forgot to knock, and waltzed right in there?"

Jamel rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah… uh… look! Just look in there!"

"I won't look in there." Andre said. "Bedsides, even if I wanted to, I couldn't. The windows are fogged up!" (OMG!)

"Fogged up?" Jamel asked. "You mean like… 'fogged up'?"

"Yeah." Andre replied. "And it's fogged up pretty good too. I bet there are layers of this."

"Andre! D'you know what this means?" Jamel asked.

"Uhh… we can draw pictures on the windows?" Andre said stupidly.

"Well yeah." Jamel replied. "But that's not what I was gonna say!"

"Well spill it already!" Andre said.

"Okay. There are only two ways I know that can explain why the windows are fogged up." Jamel said. "One, it could've rained, and there was no rain yesterday, ruling that option out. Two... let's just put it this way… you remember the 'Titanic'?"

"I wasn't alive when the Titanic sunk…" Andre began.

"No, not the ship!" Jamel said. "The movie!"

"Oh yeah!" Andre said.

"Okay. You remember the part of the movie with fogged up windows?" Jamel asked.

"Oh yeah, I remember that part!" Andre said. "They had Rose in there with…" Andre paused, eyes growing wide. "Oh… my… god…"

"Yeah." Jamel said. "I see that you've got the point."

"I wish I didn't." Andre commented, holding his eyes.

"Yeah." Jamel said, with a mischievous grin. "And any moment now, we might see a fin smack up against the window…"

"Stop it Jamel!" Andre shouted, covering his ears. "You're giving me a mental image!"

"It's true." Jamel said with a shrug. "And the only way to find out…"

"No way, Jamel!" Andre said. "I am NOT wiping the stuff off the windows!"

"And we'll hear strange moans…"

"All right! I'll do it!" Andre shouted. "Just stop giving me mental images!"

Andre wiped the fog off the windows, and his eyes grew wide.

"My eyes!" He shouted, covering his eyes and withdrawing from the window. "My poor dark blue eyes!"

Wondering what could be so scary, (though he already kind of had an idea) Jamel swam over to the window and looked in. His reaction was the same as Andre's.

"It burns!" Jamel shouted, rolling around on the sea floor. "My God, how it burns!"

"Well, actually…" Andre began, regaining his composure, "I think it's kinda cute."

"Cute?" Jamel said. "That is not cute! Even though they aren't doing anything, it'll give me images of what they did! And it burns!"

"Ha! You've got the mental images now!" Andre said with a smile.

"I sure do… and it's in color!" Jamel said, beginning to sob. "Why Andre? Why? Why does it have to be in color?"

Andre went over to Jamel and slapped him in the face. "Get a hold of yourself man! You can make it through this, I know you can!"

"Andre, you're right." Jamel said. "I can make it through this!"

"There's the Jamel I know!" Andre said with a smile.

"Yeah, Jamel is back from his breakdown!" Jamel said. "But… I don't think I'll ever be able to look at Lenny the same again. Not without… the mental images in color." He added with a shudder.

"Yeah, neither will I." Andre said. "But hey! Look at the bright side! At least we can tease him about this when he wakes up."

Jamel looked at Andre with his usual smile. "Aww yeah." He said. "There's no way he's gonna hear the end of this!"

So, the two friends swam off to hang out, thinking of uncomfortable questions to ask Lenny, and ways to tease him.

_Scene Change_

Grey light shone through a set of blue curtains. A nurse came in to open to blinds, as if it was on schedule. (Because it was.)

"Oh…"

Oscar groaned as the flash of bright, grey light shone on his eyes. "C'mon… close the blinds!"

The nurse just smiled at Oscar and said in her usual high voice, "Sorry Oscar, but I've gotta do this every day. Besides, you need the sunlight."

Oscar scoffed. "That ain't sunlight. It's fog. The only reason it's so bright is 'cause the sun's trying to shine through."

The nurse chuckled softly and replied, "Yeah, I guess Sea9's weather reporter is having a hard time predicting the right weather."

"You're tellin' me." Oscar grumbled. "Blue skies and clear weather my tail fin."

The nurse just smiled slightly and left.

Oscar sighed and looked out his window from his bed. The bright light nearly blinded him. Retreating under his pillow and covers, Oscar grumbled,

"Can't a guy get any sleep around here without being blinded or interrupted?"

"Ah, Oscar, I see that you're awake."

Oscar poked his head from under the pillow and turned to see Dr. Finn smiling at him.

"Guess not." Oscar muttered to himself, answering his own question.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Dr. Finn asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, I've just been awakened from my sleep by a blinding light." Oscar said sarcastically. "And the fog isn't exactly clearing up. Yup, the day doesn't get any more beautiful."

Dr. Finn laughed, not at all bothered by Oscar's sarcastic reply. "I see that someone's got up on the wrong side of the bed today."

Oscar suddenly realized how grumpy he had been. "I'm sorry doc." He apologized. "I've just… got a lot in my mind right now."

"It's all right Oscar." Dr. Finn said. "You aren't the worst grouchy patient we've seen. You should've been here when Mrs. Sanchez broke her fin. She complained the whole time she was here. And don't tell her this, but we charged her extra when she got out." He added in a whisper.

Oscar chuckled. "Don't worry doc. Your secret's safe with me."

"Good." Dr. Finn said with a smile. His face became serious when he said, "But I'm afraid we've got some bad news."

"What?" Oscar asked with a chuckle. "Is the medical bill sky high or somethin'?"

"No, it's not that." Dr. Finn said. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay in the hospital for another week and a half."

"What?" Oscar shouted.

"Yeah." Dr. Finn said nonchalantly, as if he had been expecting this reaction. "It turns out that you won't be able to swim until that time. You see, that shard of glass pierced a very important muscle, and it needs time to heal. So, until then… you'll be taking it easy in here."

"But, doc…I can't stay in the hospital!" Oscar said. "I've got… stuff to do! And… a 'job' I need to take care of…"

"Ah, I see." Dr. Finn said professionally. "You're talking about your job. I wouldn't worry those sharks. You've pretty much got 'em scared."

"Oh! Uh… thanks doc." Oscar said with a forced smile.

"No problem." Dr. Finn said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have another patient to check up on. Stupid kids nowadays. Trying to copy everything off of TV." And with that, Dr. Finn left the room.

With a heavy sigh, Oscar plopped his head on the pillow. How much longer will his lie continue to eat away at him like this? Everything was going fine until Dr. Finn had to mention that whole 'shark slayer' thing! When Oscar had said 'job', he wasn't talking about battling sharks! He was talking about something of more importance; trying to get his friends back. Guilt tore at Oscar's insides.

'_You deserve to be in this hospital, Oscar!' _Oscar's conscious yelled. _'You know you deserve to be here! The only thing you don't deserve to do is live! That building should've fallen on you!'_

"Shut up." Oscar said, arguing with his conscious. "I do deserve to live. I've done a lot of great things…"

'_Great things my tail fins!'_ Oscar's conscious retorted. _'As if making your friends hate you and turning another friend out his home is a great thing! Oh yeah, Oscar, you deserve a trophy!'_

"Shut up." Oscar argued. "Besides… they aren't really my friends. If they can't accept the fact that I've moved on, then they were never really my friends in the first place."

'_That is bull and you know it!' _Oscar's conscious shouted. _'You're just saying that to cover up your mistakes! You need to stop making all these pitiful excuses! Oscar, wake up and smell the coffee already! You're acting like a… a… well, there are words for what you're being, but for right now, I'll stick with idiot.'_

Just as Oscar was about to object, a nurse poked her head in the door.

"This is room thirty-six, right?"

"Yeah." Oscar answered.

"Okay, so this is the right room then." The nurse said. "Oscar, we've got a visitor for you." The nurse left to go get the visitor.

"Great!" Oscar sighed to himself in an annoyed tone. "It's probably Angie or Rueben who came here to yell at me. Get ready for the abuse Oscar."

'_The rightfully deserved abuse.' _His conscious added.

But, the abuse never came. Only the surprised silence as Oscar observed the visitor he received.

_Scene Change_

Ronnie's eyes opened slowly. She heard the gentle sound of snoring, and felt her head resting on something. Vision still a little blurry, she looked at the VCR clock. The red numbers read 'eleven ten.' Ronnie cursed herself for eating ice cream late at night again.

'_You know it always makes you sleep later than you usually do!' _she scolded herself.

Still feeling sleepy, Ronnie began to drift off to sleep. But her eyes snapped open when she realized something.

'_Wait…' _she thought. _'If I'm sleeping… where am I sleeping?'_

Ronnie's brief worry attack ended as she thought to reassure herself,

'_Don't worry. You probably went to bed but don't remember it.'_

Once again, Ronnie began to drift off to sleep, until her eyes snapped open again.

'_But, wait! I can't be sleeping on my bed! Because I feel myself laying on something and my pillow's in the washing machine!' _She thought. _'Plus, the warmth I feel isn't the warmth I feel isn't the warmth of my covers! It's different… but I just can't place my fin on it…'_

Fully waking up, Ronnie began to look around her. She wasn't in her bed as she had thought; she was on the couch.

'_Okay… this is weird…' _she thought.

Glancing around her, she noticed something around her waist. Looking down, she saw two fins around her… two fins that weren't hers.

'_What the heck?' _she thought.

Looking up, she found herself staring at Lenny, who was still sleeping.

'_Lenny?' _She thought. _'What the…. Wait a sec…'_

She noticed that what she was laying on Lenny's sleeping body. Her head was resting on his chest, and she realized that she had been like that since last night… and couldn't remember anything. And of course, since she couldn't remember anything…

"Oh my god!" She shouted. She began to shake Lenny. "Lenny! Lenny wake up!"

"Wha…?" Lenny said groggily.

"Wake up!" Ronnie said, still shaking Lenny.

"Mmm… Five more minutes…" Lenny mumbled.

Ronnie sighed. "Lenny, you're gonna hate me for this, but…" With those words, Ronnie pushed Lenny off the couch. With a loud thud, Lenny landed on the floor, waking him up immediately.

"Oww!" Lenny whined. He looked up at Ronnie. "What'chu do that for?"

"To ask you something!" Ronnie said in a worried and confused tone.

"Well what is it?" Lenny grumbled in a sleepy tone. "Whatever it is, I bet it's not important enough to push me off the couch like that."

"All right, I'm sorry." Ronnie said. "But I've gotta ask you this: you remember last night, right?"

"How could I forget?" Lenny asked with a grin.

"Well that's great." Ronnie said. "Okay, so d'you remember what happened after we ate the ice cream?"

"Well, actually, it kind of melted." Lenny said with a grin. "But no, everything after that turns fuzzy."

"Oh no." Ronnie said in a worried tone. "This can't be right…"

Lenny looked up and saw Ronnie pacing behind the couch, a worried expression on her face. "Hey Ronnie… you feelin' okay? I mean… you look like something bad's just happened."

"That's because something bad did happen." Ronnie said in her worried tone. "I'm just trying to figure out if it happened or not."

"Huh?" Lenny said in a confused voice.

Ronnie began to mutter things in Spanish under her breath. Lenny wasn't able to hear what she was saying, but he could by the look on her face that she wasn't saying something good.

"Ronnie… what's wrong?" Lenny asked. Slowly, he began to realize his surroundings. "Hey, why am I on the couch? And… why were you on the couch? And…"

Ronnie stared at Lenny, the worried and confused look still on her face. Her face seemed to tell Lenny what was going on.

"And, so you… and I… and the couch…" Lenny paused, taking a moment to analyze things. Once he seemed to get the point, his eyes grew wide. "Oh snap…"

"Yeah, exactly." Ronnie said. "That's why I had to ask if you remembered anything."

"Well hey!" Lenny said optimistically. "There's a chance that we didn't…"

Before Lenny could finish his sentence, Ronnie pointed a fin towards the windows. So, Lenny turned towards the windows to see why she was pointing at them, and he found out in a flash; they were fogged up. (Dun, dun, dun!)

"Oh snap again." Lenny said.

"Yup." Ronnie said. "Fogged up windows!"

"Well hey, at least there aren't any…" Lenny began. But once again, he was cut off by a pointing fin. Looking up at the couch. He saw something that increased his and Ronnie's doubt; sheets! (OMG!)

"Sh-" Lenny began, until he was cut off by Ronnie.

"Ya know, there are better words." Ronnie said. "So, you have any other things to point out that'll probably prove anything?"

Lenny opened his mouth to talk, but closed it again. He couldn't find anything else to say. But, with an ounce of hope left in him, he began to look around. After five seconds, he finally found something to say, though it probably wouldn't make any difference.

"At least the pillows are arranged the same way." Lenny said, crossing his fins with a smile.

"I don't have pillows on my couch." Ronnie said. "It's naturally puffy and comfortable."

"Dammit." Lenny muttered under his breath. "Now what?"

"I dunnow." Ronnie said.

"Oh, wait, you heard me?" Lenny asked.

"Yeah, I've got good hearing." Ronnie replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Okay, that explains that." Lenny said. "But that doesn't explain this! How'd we get like this!"

"I don't know!" Ronnie said. She sighed. "Note to self: ice cream makes you sleepy."

"I'll remember that." Lenny said. "But for some reason, I can't remember… uh…"

"Yeah, me neither." Ronnie admitted with a blush.

"So… what do we do now?" Lenny asked.

"I don't know." Ronnie said.

"Another go at it?" Lenny asked.

Ronnie glared at Lenny and began to throw pillows at him.

"All right! Jeez! I was just kidding!" Lenny said, trying to protect himself from the barrage of pillows.

"Yeah right!" Ronnie scoffed, still throwing pillows at him. "Hmm… I seem to have run out of pillows."

"Well in that case, I better get out of here before you throw heavier things at me." Lenny joked, swimming out the door. But before he got out the door, his joke was rewarded with something heavier thrown at him.

"Too late for that." Ronnie said with a chuckle.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam towards the regular meeting spot where he always met up with Andre and Jamel.

'_And I can't believe the windows were fogged up!' _Lenny was thinking. _'Oh well. At least Jamel and Andre don't know about this.'_

Just as he had thought that, Jamel and Andre came swimming towards him.

"Hey there Lenny!" Andre called out. "How's it goin'?"

"It's goin' okay, I guess." Lenny said. "Hey… what's wrong with Jamel?"

Jamel was covering his eyes, like it hurt to look at Lenny. "Images…" Lenny heard him mumble.

"Aww, don't worry about him. He's being his crazy self. Besides," Andre added with a smile, "I don't think you should worry that much. You always seemed to be the type of guy who came out on top of things."

'_Darn it!' _Lenny thought. _'Why'd he have to say 'on top!'_

"Hey Lenny, you okay?" Andre asked, trying to hide his enjoyment from Lenny's reaction. "You look like you've gotta get something off your chest."

'_Aww, c'mon!' _Lenny thought. _'Why'd he have to say that?' _Without thinking, Lenny said, "I already did."

At this point, Jamel looked up. "Well who was it?" He asked mischievously.

Lenny coughed. "What was that?" He asked nervously.

"You said you already got something off your chest. So I said, 'well what was it?" Jamel said mischievously, turning 'who' into 'what.'

"Oh! Um…" Lenny tried to think of a lie to say, but he couldn't find anything. So, he said, "Erm… it's a secret."

"A scary or embarrassing one?" Jamel asked in an amused tone.

"Uh… that's another secret!" Lenny said, beginning to get anxious.

"Uh-huh." Jamel said. "Now c'mon! I've got a place to show ya!"

Beginning to swim into the city, Andre said,

"Hey Lenny, you okay? You act like you didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Yeah." Jamel added. "Like someone was there to keep you awake."

"Well… to tell you the truth… I didn't really get a lot of sleep." Lenny lied. "I guess I wasn't sleepy."

"Oh really?" Jamel and Andre chorused, both trying to stifle laughs.

'_What the… do these guys know something I don't?' _Lenny thought.

"So," Andre said, "did you and Ronnie make up?"

"Yeah." Lenny said.

"So the special pizza thing worked!" Jamel said with a smile.

"Uhh… actually, the special pizza thing didn't work." Lenny said.

"Huh? Well how'd you two get back together?" Andre asked.

"Uhh… the miracle of chocolate sauce." Lenny admitted without giving too much away.

Jamel and Andre looked at each other. _'Chocolate sauce!' _they said telepathically to each other. _'They had chocolate sauce? Oh my god!' _

"I don't know what that means," Jamel said, "and I don't want to find out."

"Same for me." Andre said.

"Good, because it'd probably shock you." Lenny said with a smile. "So… where're we going?"

"Beats me." Andre said with a shrug. "Ask Jamel, he's the one who knows."

"Okay, I guess this is where I reveal the location." Jamel said. "We are in the alley of Shell Avenue."

"And…?" Lenny and Andre asked.

"And in this alley is where the greatest pool players in the world go!" Jamel said.

"So what're we doin' here?" Andre asked. "We can't play pool as good as those guys! I mean, I'm good, but not that good."

"It's 'we can't play pool as _well_ as those guys.'" Jamel said, correcting Andre. "And we aren't here to play, just to watch."

"Well that's good." Lenny said. "I've never played it before."

Jamel and Andre looked at Lenny like he was crazy.

"What?" Lenny asked.

"You've never played pool before." Andre said.

"So?" Lenny asked.

"So?" Jamel said. "You've never played pool before!"

"I never got around to it." Lenny said. "So what?"

"So what?" Andre said. "So what? Im… wha… how… we're teaching you how to play."

"Now c'mon!" Jamel said, grabbing Lenny by the fin and swimming into the pool place.

_Scene Change_

Oscar stared at the visitor he had received. It was the shrimp he had saved the other day.

"Can I come in?" He asked in a high voice.

Oscar nodded his head. When the shrimp swam in, he could see that he was not alone. He was carrying a tinier shrimp with a ribbon.

"I'd just like to say thank you for saving my life, and this little girl right here would like to thank you too." The shrimp said.

"T'anks!" The shrimp with the ribbon said.

Oscar chuckled. He could see that the girl shrimp with the ribbon had to be only a two years old. "Is she your daughter?" He asked.

"No, she's actually my niece." The shrimp explained. "You see, a family member of mine passed away, so I began to take care of her, and it's really hard because she has a smaller fin and I've been working hard at the factory, but all the hard work and love I have for her pays off in the end." When he saw the look of disbelief on Oscar's face he added, "True story."

"Dang." Oscar said. "So if you had been hit…"

"Then my niece would've been an orphan." The shrimp finished. "I'd also like to thank you for being brave enough to do your 'shark slaying' job. It's hard facing death over and over. I've faced death before at a shark's teeth; I don't think I wanna go back."

"You've been in a shark's ship before and lived?" Oscar asked incredulously.

"Yeah." The shrimp said. "You see, there was this one shark who's dad kept telling him to eat the shrimp, and my friends and I were pleading, and then the shark got mad and shouted 'put the shrimp down!' and then he let us all free. That was the only shark I've ever known to do that; and I was sad to hear that he could never go home."

Oscar gulped. "You know about that?" He knew who he was talking about.

"Are you kidding me? It was all in the newspapers!" The shrimp said. "Well, I've gotta go now. I hope you get better. C'mon Lucy."

After he said that, the baby shrimp with a red ribbon swam towards her uncle. As the shrimp and his niece swam out the door, the shrimp called out, "And my name's Mickey, by the way." (They didn't name the shrimp, so I'll just call him Mickey.) And with those words, the shrimp and his niece left.

'_Aww, man!' _Oscar thought. Now he felt even worse. _'I didn't know that Lenny saved that shrimp and possibly helped out his niece! Why does everything come back to haunt me? Why can't I have my decision without guilt?' _

'_Because life doesn't work that way.' _His conscious answered.

Oscar knew this was true, but again (like the dummy he was) he still refused to listen.

_Scene Change_

Lenny, Jamel, and Andre were swimming near a pool table in the pool place.

"All right." Jamel was saying to Lenny. "This is a pool table."

"Wow, really?" Lenny said sarcastically. "I'm stunned."

"I see that someone's being sarcastic today."

The three friends turned around and saw a White tip floating behind them.

"Sorry if I startled ya'll." The White tip said. "My name's Shelly by the way. I'm a waitress here."

"I'm Jamel." Jamel said.

"I'm Lenny." Lenny said.

Andre didn't say anything. He just stared.

"Has a catfish got your tongue honey?" Shelly asked.

"Uh… no!" Andre said, regaining composure. "I'm Andre."

"Well, Andre." Shelly said with a smile. "Nice to meet you. Maybe the next time I see you, you won't stare."

Andre blushed as Shelly continued, "So, can I get you boys anything?"

"Naw, we're fine." Jamel said.

"Okay then." Shelly said, swimming away. "See you around."

Andre watched as Shelly swam away while Lenny and Jamel smiled knowingly at each other.

"See you around." Jamel said, imitating Shelly's southern voice.

"Uh yeah. I sure do hope so." Lenny said, imitating Andre.

Andre's look of annoyance only increased Lenny and Jamel's amusement, and the two burst out in laughter.

"Shut up." Andre said, grabbing a pool stick thingy. (I'm at a loss for words. Bah.)

"What?" Lenny asked with a smile. "You don't want us to know about your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend." Andre said.

"Mmm, hmm." Jamel and Lenny said, looking at Andre.

"Stop it!" Andre shouted.

"Stop what?" Jamel asked innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about." Andre said. "Stop it."

"Okay. We're sorry." Lenny said. "So, I guess I'll get a pool stick…" As he was going to get a pool stick, Lenny accidentally knocked over the sticks on the wall. Unfortunately, one of the sticks somehow hit a Killer whale on the head.

"Hey!" The Orca shouted. "Who hit me with that stick?"

Everyone in 'The Pool Place' (the name of where they were) pointed to Lenny, who felt very small compared to the Killer. The Killer whale swam towards Lenny, and picked him up.

"You're gonna pay for that boy." He growled.

Everybody near the two swam towards the walls, expecting a fight. Just as the whale raised his fist, another fin stopped him. It was Shelly!

"Hey!" She said in a no-nonsense type of tone. "Break it up! I don't want any fighting in here! And don't you dare try and start behind my back, 'cause I'll find out and beat you up myself!" She broke the two apart before swimming away.

"You're lucky the lady saved your life." The Killer whale sneered. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Willie."

"Willie?" Jamel said in a laughing voice. "You mean like 'Free Willie?' Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"You think that's funny spot?" Willie growled, turning his attention to Jamel.

Jamel cowered behind Andre.

"First rule I learned from my pops." Lenny whispered to Jamel. "Never call a Killer whale 'Free Willie.'"

"Well, it looks like there's only one way to settle this." Willie said. "A pool game."

"What?" Jamel, Andre, and Lenny shouted.

"But I can't play!" Lenny said.

Willie laughed and said, "Well in that case, I'll raise the stakes in this game! If you win, I'll never mess with you again."

Lenny gulped. "What if you win?"

Willie just laughed and said, "You better watch your back."

There was a chorus of 'ooohs' in the room, and one guy said, "I've gotta see this!"

"So, are you gonna play?" Willie said, grabbing a stick. "Or are you gonna forfeit in shame?"

Lenny sighed. "I'll play."

While Lenny was getting a stick, Willie racked up the balls. "I'll let you go first." Willie said.

"You're too kind." Lenny muttered under his breath. Lenny shot the white ball to break the balls and to everybody's surprise… all the balls went into the same pockets!

Willie floated there in shock, as did the rest of the audience. Jamel was the first to recover.

"Lenny…" Jamel said in surprise, "You're a pool shark!"

"And you said that you couldn't play!" Willie said angrily. Rolling up invisible sleeves, he headed towards Lenny.

"Hey!" An Orca whale shouted. "You made a bet that if he won, you'd never mess with him again!"

"And if you better not break that promise!" A barracuda shouted. "You know the rules about what'll happen if you break a bet's promise here!"

"Yeah!" The whole room shouted in agreement.

"Grrrr…" Willie growled. "I don't need to waste my time here." And with that, he swam out the door.

Lenny just floated there, still trying to grasp everything that had happened.

"I think I better go before he decides to come back." Lenny whispered to his friends.

"Yeah, I think you should too." Andre said as Jamel nodded his head in agreement.

"All right. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Before Lenny left, he said, "Oh yeah, thanks guys!"

"No problem." A barracuda said. "It's what we do."

And with that, Lenny left.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam into Ronnie's ship.

"Hey Ronnie!" He said.

"Hey." Ronnie said with a smile.

"I can't believe that talent contest thing is only four days away." Lenny said, sitting on the couch.

"Me neither." Ronnie said.

"I hope the night isn't foggy like today was." Lenny commented.

Ronnie perked up when she heard this. "Did you just say that it was foggy earlier on today?"

"Yeah." Lenny said casually. "Why?"

"This is great!" Ronnie exclaimed. "Lenny, you remember this morning?"

"You pushed me off the couch, how could I not remember?" Lenny said.

"Okay. So d'you remember how the windows were fogged up?" Ronnie asked.

"Yes." Lenny said. "Though I wish I didn't."

"Well than, I now know the reason the windows were fogged up!" Ronnie said cheerfully.

"Because we…"

"No! Not because of _that_!" Ronnie said. "It's because whenever there's a foggy day, my windows always get fogged up!"

That caught Lenny's attention. "So you mean… there's a chance we didn't…?"

"Yep!" Ronnie said.

"This is great!" Lenny said, swimming over to hug Ronnie.

After about five seconds, Ronnie said,

"Uhh… Lenny?"

"Yeah?" Lenny asked, still hugging her.

"You're squishing me." Ronnie said.

"Oh! Sorry." Lenny said, breaking away with an embarrassed smile.

"That's all right." Ronnie said. "Now c'mon! I'm hungry, and there's clam chowder! And then, for dessert, I'm gettin' some cake!"

"Wouldn't you rather have ice cream?" Lenny asked.

Ronnie glared at Lenny and began to throw things at him.

_Scene Change_

Willie swam through an alley with a scowl on his face, heading for his apartment.

"Stupid shark." Willie was mumbling. "I hate him…"

"Ah, I see that you've made an enemy with him too."

Willie turned towards the dark shadows where the voice came from. "Who's there?" He asked.

"Don't worry." The voice said. "I'm a possible friend."

"Well then, possible friend, why won't you show yourself?" Willie demanded.

"You might attack me." The voice answered simply.

'_This guy is smart.'_ Willie thought. Then he said, "So, what do you want with me?"

"I know that you hate this Great white, and I've got a problem with him too. That's why I need your help in getting him back. So, do we have a deal?"

"But I can't touch him!" Willie said. "It's part of a stupid bet."

"So you can't touch him." The voice said. "But you didn't say that you wouldn't touch his little girlfriend."

Willie rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "You're smart. I like smarts."

"But smarts isn't enough to capture him and his girlfriend." At this point, the owner of the voice swam from out of the shadows.

"How d'you know if catching his girlfriend will work?" Willie asked.

"Oh please." The shark scoffed. "He practically sleeps with her." Then the shark held out a fin. "So, like I've said earlier, do we have a deal?"

"All right." Willie said, shaking the voice's owner's fin. "We've got a deal."

"Good." The voice's owner said with an evil smirk. "Meet me in this same alley on July second." And with those words, the mysterious shark began to swim away.

"Wait!" Willie called out, causing the shark to stop. "What's your name?"

The mysterious shark chuckled and said, "Oh, just call me Markie."

_TBC…_

_Bum, bum, bum! Oscar has to stay in the hospital! And Lenny's a pool shark! But that's not the important thing. Markie has something in for Lenny! What's gonna happen next? Will Oscar get out the hospital a changed fish? And what does Markie want with Ronnie? There's only one way find out, and that's to wait for the next chappie!_

_R&R pleez! _


	11. Talent show time!

_Author's Note: I am back! And I have another chappie! Mwahaha! Since I'm running out of ideas, this chappie will mainly be focusing the talent contest… and some new characters. But for now, my traditional shout outs!_

**British Rose- Thanx for liking my story. Stupid gettin' ready to move. (Pouts) I'm glad that I've got good dialogue interaction and I kind of like the lesser characters. You'll also be seeing more of Crazy Joe, but you'll find him later on. Okay, I'll see if I could get a little more description, and I'm glad that it's great so far.**

**Lav'O'Dolphin- A'ight, so the thing is called a cue. I think it's cute too. And you hit the ice cream thing right on the spot. How'd you know? **

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Eleven: Talent Show Night Part One**

Today was Friday; the day of the talent show. Ronnie and Lenny had been practicing their dance, and they had gotten it perfected. So, in other words, they were ready for the talent show.

"I can't believe it!" Lenny said. "It's Friday!"

"Yeah." Ronnie said. "And we go on that talent show thingy… with a lot of people watching."

"Yeah." Lenny said. "Against two other contestants… what if we don't win the contest? What if someone else gets the money? What if…?"

Lenny's train of 'what if' questions were silenced by Ronnie putting a fin to his lips. "Don't think like that!" She said. "Besides, if you don't get the money, you'll just have to stay with me and find a job until you get three thousand clams." She smiled. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."

Lenny sighed. "I guess you're right, I shouldn't be worrying. But still, I can't help but think about it."

"Oh don't worry." Ronnie said. "I bet I can get your mind off things for a while…"

Ronnie was getting closer, and just as Lenny was about to say something…

_Ding dong!_

'_Man!' _Lenny thought. _'Why'd the doorbell have to ring now?'_

"I guess I'll get the door." Ronnie said.

Lenny watched until Ronnie's tail disappeared around the corner.

'_Hey… she's got a blue line across the tip.' _Lenny thought.

Meanwhile, Ronnie was answering the door. She thought that it was either Andre or Jamel, seeing as how no one else came around, so she answered the door with an annoyed,

"Yeah, what do ya want?"

To that a voice responded,

"Aww, c'mon. That's no way to treat a friend, much less a family member."

Ronnie looked up in surprised delight. She had known that voice all too well; it belonged to her big brother.

"Ricky!" She shouted, hugging her brother.

"Hey there sis." Ricky said, returning the hug. "Did ya miss me?"

"Of course I did!" Ronnie said, breaking the hug. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know." Ricky said. "Here and there. But enough about me. Look at you! The last time I saw you, you were smaller than me! But now… you're almost as big as me! Almost."

"Oh Ricky." Ronnie said with a smile.

Ricky sniffled and pretended to wipe his eye. "My little sister is all grown up and pretty."

"Shut up." Ronnie said. She was still smiling though.

"So…" Ricky said with a teasing smile and voice to match, "You got a boyfriend?"

"No!" Ronnie said. "I've got a friend that's a boy, if that's what you're asking."

"Uh-huh." Ricky said, not quite believing her. "So, can I come in?"

"No, you have to stay out here." Ronnie said sarcastically. She then added in a less sarcastic tone, "Of course you can come in!"

So, Ricky and Ronnie swam into the ship. Lenny was nowhere in sight.

"How's your friend Shelly doing?" Ricky asked, sitting on the couch.

"I dunnow." Ronnie said. "I haven't seen her around that much. But I do that she works at this place where you can play pool." Ronnie paused and thought for a moment. "Maybe I should visit her one day."

"Maybe you should." Ricky said. "I'd like to see how she turned out."

"Oh, she looks the same as always, only much bigger." Ronnie said, sitting next to her brother. "So, why'd you come to visit me today?"

"Well, I heard that there was a talent show today." Ricky answered. "And when I heard that it was in this city, I thought 'hey, why not visit my little sis too.' So, here I am."

"Cool." Ronnie said.

"I feel very jealous of the creatures in that contest." Ricky continued. "Especially since one of the contestants might win a million clams." He paused a moment, shaking his head. "So, are you gonna watch the talent show too?"

Ronnie began to laugh, confusing Ricky very much.

"What?" he asked. "What's so funny?"

Between gasps for breath and laughter, Ronnie managed to say, "I won't be watching the show, I'll be in it!"

"Really?" Ricky asked, surprised. "Wow! What're you doing for the show?"

"Just dancing." Ronnie said casually. "Salsa dancing."

"You've finally mastered it?" Ricky questioned. "'Bout time! I thought you'd never get it right!"

"Yeah, I know how to dance." Ronnie said. "So in your face!" She added, sticking out her tongue.

"What made you do that?" Ricky asked in feigned sadness. "You hurt my feelings."

"You know why I did that." Ronnie said. "Because while I was learning, you said that I'd never learn to dance it."

"And now I'm eating my words." Ricky finished. "You still hurt my feelings, though."

"Aww, I'm sorry." Ronnie said, pretending to comfort him. "You need a hug?"

"Uhh, no. I think I've had enough hugs for the day." Ricky said, getting up from the couch. "Right now, I need some food. Could you point me in the direction of the kitchen?"

"Sure." Ronnie said. "Go straight down the hallway and turn left."

"Thanks." Ricky said. "Be right back."

Ronnie watched with a smile as Ricky headed for the kitchen. She liked her older brother; he was always so easy going and fun! He could be a bit protective though…

'_Protective?' _Ronnie thought. _'Oh no! I forgot to tell him about Lenny! Oh well, maybe they'll like each other…'_

So, Ronnie began to watch TV, hoping for the best. Maybe nothing would go wrong… maybe something will. Only time would tell.

_Scene Change_

Cody swam through the hallway of the 'Love Boat.' He was looking for his friends; the friends he began to hang out with since Lenny had gone.

"You got any fours?"

"Go fish."

Cody looked in the door. There, in his room, were three sharks playing 'go fish' over a pull-out plastic table.

"Hey!" Cody said from the doorway. "Who said you guys could use my bedroom as a hangout?"

"Aww, c'mon Cody." A Great white that was playing said. "Your room is so nice."

"Uh-huh." Cody said, swimming in his room. He sat down next to the shark that wasn't playing.

"You got any sixes?"

"Go fish."

"You got any threes?"

"Go fish."

"You got any…"

"Arrgh!" Cody yelled. "I'm tired of this! Get a card all ready!"

"Hey, go fish takes a long time to play." The Great white that was playing said. "It takes a lot of talent and especially takes a long time when professionals play…"

"Yeah," The Great white that wasn't playing commented sarcastically, "It takes a lot of talent to guess what card number the other player has. And how can you be a professional go fish player? It's not poker!"

"Yeah, but it's as hard as poker." The Great white that was playing said.

"Oh yeah, it's hard." The Great white that wasn't playing said. "'Oh no, I have to match two cards to win and guess if the other guy has a five or not.' Hard as poker my…"

"Shut up!" Giuseppe shouted. "I just wanna play go fish in peace! And stop wit' da sarcastic comments, Jimmy! You're just mad 'cause you can't play dis game!"

"No I'm not." Jimmy mumbled.

Jimmy was the shark that wasn't playing go fish. He was a friend of Cody's, but not much of a friend of Lenny's, though he did hang out with him a little. The shark that was playing was called Michael. He wasn't Lenny's friend, but he did hang out with Cody after Lenny was gone. And, of course, we all kind of know who Giuseppe is.

"C'mon guys," Michael said, "can't we just play the game?"

"Eh, I don't feel like playin' anymore." Giuseppe said, putting his cards down.

"Me neither." Michael said. "It's so boring around here."

"That's why I've got a surprise for all of us…" Cody said in a hinting voice. "But hey, you might not like it."

"What is it?" Jimmy said. "I don't care what it is, just as long as it doesn't involve cards!"

"Okay, here's the thing." After Cody said that, he pulled out a flyer. "In a city near here, there's this talent show. They'll have a group of three creatures doing stuff…"

"Not interested." The other three sharks said.

"Why not?" Cody asked.

"Because, a talent show just doesn't seem like fun." Giuseppe said. "Besides, you didn't even ask da boss."

"Yes I did!" Cody said. "When I asked him, he didn't seem to care."

"He's been like that since Lenny left." Jimmy remarked. "I think he's still beating himself up for sayin' he can't come back home."

"Yeah." Michael and Giuseppe sighed.

Cody could see that everyone in his room missed Lenny, and wanted to see him again, so he said,

"Oh well, we won't go to the talent show. I just thought we could see Lenny on the way…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up there!" Michael said. "Whaddya mean by, 'I just thought we could see Lenny?'"

Cody smirked. His plan had worked! "Oh nothing. I just thought that since the city holding the talent show was the closest near her, that Lenny probably could've went there and heard about the talent contest. And if he heard about the talent contest…"

"Then he might be there tonight!" Michael said.

"But, there's a chance that he might not be there." Jimmy said.

"Let's take that chance then!" Giuseppe said. He turned to Cody. "So, Cody, when and where is the talent show?"

"It's at a place called 'Poetry Corner', and it starts at eight thirty." Cody said.

"I guess we'll leave at eight 'o' clock then." Giuseppe said.

"All right!" Jimmy said. "We're going to a talent show!"

Cody smiled, and swam off to do other things. He hoped to see Lenny again, because like most of the mafia, he was worried about him.

_Scene Change_

Ricky swam through the hallway, heading for the kitchen.

'_She said to take a left right…?' _he thought. _'Yeah, she said take a left… oh look! I'm here!'_

Ricky swam into the doorway of the kitchen, making his way towards the refrigerator. He stopped suddenly when he saw the fridge door open, and a tail fin sticking out of it.

'_Who is this?' _Ricky thought.

Ricky cleared his throat, trying to get the shark's attention. When that didn't work, he tried another way.

"Who're you!" He shouted.

His sudden shout startled the shark, making him bump his head.

"Oww!" Ricky heard the shark say.

'_That got his attention.' _Ricky thought.

"Jeez Ronnie," Lenny said, rubbing his head. "You almost gave me a heart attack…" he stopped when he saw Ricky. "You're not Ronnie!"

"No, I'm not." Ricky said in a suspicious tone. "And how d'you know my sister?"

"Your sister?" Lenny asked, confused.

"Yeah, I'm her brother." Ricky said. "Now could you tell me how you know my sister?"

"Umm… okay." Lenny said. "I'm a friend of hers."

"A friend of hers… all right." Ricky said.

"I'm also her dance partner for the talent show…" Lenny said. "It's salsa dancing."

"Oh really?" Ricky said. "You do know the close proximity you have to my sister while you're dancing, right?"

"Yes…" Lenny said, blushing.

"Good." Ricky said. "And since you know that, I just want to let you know something." Ricky went up to Lenny's face, which kind of scared him. "Touch my sister in any way that isn't related to dancing, and you're dead." He said in a menacing tone.

Lenny nodded his head, and quickly swam out the kitchen.

Ricky chuckled to himself, and then tried to find some ice cream in the freezer. _'He seemed to get my message.' _Ricky thought. _'Let's see him try to mess with my sister now.' _

Meanwhile, Lenny came rushing into the living room.

"I see that you've met my brother." Ronnie said. "He went into 'protective big brother' mode on ya, didn't he?"

Lenny nodded his head, a scared expression on his face. "That guy is scary!"

"Aww, don't worry." Ronnie said. "I'm sure that whatever he said to you, he was just joking."

"Nuh-uh!" Lenny said, shaking his head. "I'm sure he meant it!"

"Maybe he did." Ronnie said, chuckling silently.

At that point, Ricky swam into the living room, holding an ice cream carton and spoon.

"Hey, Ronnie! Didn't mama always tell you to stop buying rum flavored ice cream?" Ricky said, eating the rum flavored ice cream as he spoke. "You know it makes people forget stuff, and this company always puts extra rum in it!"

"Rum flavored ice cream?" Lenny and Ronnie chorused. "That explains everything!"

"Explains what?" Ricky asked. He tried to hold back a smile when he saw the expressions on their faces. He knew he had hit an embarrassing subject, and wanted to see how they would respond.

"Uhh…" Ronnie said, "…Ask Lenny!"

"Me?" Lenny asked.

"Yes you!" Ronnie said. "You're the one who got the ice cream!"

"You're the one who brought it in the first place!" Lenny said.

"I thought it was vanilla!" Ronnie said.

Ricky floated back and watched with an amused face, laughing silently. _'Maybe I should've gotten popcorn instead of ice cream.' _He thought.

"It's not my fault you thought it was vanilla!" Lenny said. "It's also your fault the thing happened because you happen to be a big chocolate sauce fanatic…"

"Hey, I resent that." Ronnie said. "I'm not a chocolates sauce fanatic, I just happen to like chocolate. And it seems to me that you like chocolate sauce too, only not on ice cream."

"Hey!" Lenny protested. "That's not fair! You can't bring that up!"

"I just did." Ronnie said, crossing her fins and smirking.

"Ahem." Ricky said, causing Lenny and Ronnie to stop talking. "Are you going to tell me what happened? And what's all this talk about chocolate sauce?"

Lenny was thinking of an excuse to say, while Ronnie knew exactly what to say. She was going to make Ricky ask Lenny a question she knew he couldn't answer.

"Well, about the chocolate sauce," Ronnie said, "I was joking him by saying that he doesn't like it on ice cream."

"He eats it from the container?" Ricky asked.

"Nope." Ronnie said.

"Well what does he like it on?" Ricky asked, getting confused.

"Why don't you ask Lenny that?" Ronnie said with a smirk, looking at Lenny. "He can answer you, can't ya Lenny?"

Lenny was staring at Ronnie, open-mouthed. He knew what she had done; she had made Ricky want to know about the chocolate sauce thing, and she knew he couldn't answer without remembering Ricky's threat.

"Well?" Ricky asked, looking at Lenny. "What's with this whole chocolate sauce thing?"

Lenny began to stutter things and begin incomplete sentences. Ronnie was watching and trying not to laugh, while Ricky was watching with an amused face.

'_Apparently something happened that they don't want me to know about.' _Ricky thought. _'I think this Lenny character already did something that contradicted my 'touch my sister and you're dead' thing.'_

Finally, Lenny thought of an excuse. "I like chocolate sauce on waffles!" he blurted out.

"Waffles?" Ricky said in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's weird, and Ronnie was blackmailing me with it." Lenny lied.

'_Dang!' _Ronnie thought. _'He thought of an excuse!'_

"But," Lenny continued with a glance in Ronnie's direction, "I've got something too. Ronnie also had a part in the chocolate sauce thing. She can tell you about what happened after that, I can't remember."

Ronnie glared at Lenny. Now she was going to have to explain about the chocolate sauce thing. It's hard telling your friend's brother about things that happened, but it's even harder if you're related to the guy!

"Is there something going on that I should know about?" Ricky asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Umm… no!" Ronnie said.

"Then why won't you guys tell me about the chocolate sauce thing?" Ricky questioned.

"Oh, I'll tell you." Ronnie said, finally thinking of an excuse. "It's because we looked like little kids and got chocolate sauce all over our mouths." It was the truth, but not the whole truth.

"Uh-huh…" Ricky said, not quite believing what they were saying. "Well now that that's settled… could you give me a tour around the city?"

"You'll have to get Lenny for that." Ronnie said, getting Lenny back for sticking the question on her. "I'm gonna go see if I can get Shelly." And with that, Ronnie swam out the door, looking for her friend.

Ricky and Lenny just floated there. Finally, Ricky broke the silence by saying,

"So, are you gonna show me around or am I gonna have to find another tour guide?"

Lenny nodded his head and motioned for Ricky to follow him. Even though he was still freaked out because of the whole, 'touch my sister and you're dead' thing, he knew that it was a big brother thing, and Ricky seemed like a fun guy to be around.

_Scene Change_

Lenny and Ricky swam towards the city. Lenny was talking while Ricky just listened.

"And after that, I should show you my friends, Jamel and Andre." Lenny was saying. "They tease me sometimes, but they're fun to be around, and how I met them is a long story…"

"How'd you meet them?" Ricky asked.

"Like I said, it's a long story." Lenny said.

"I've got time." Ricky said while shrugging. "I'll be here for three days."

"Well, okay." Lenny said. "Here's the story. I was kicked out of my house, and so I had nowhere to go. So, I kept swimming until I got to this city, and decided to ask for directions. So, I found this night club and Jamel was able to get me in, and that's how I met him."

"So, you met Andre next?" Ricky asked.

"No, actually I met Ronnie next." Lenny said. "You see, while I was in the club, this guy named Markie came and slashed me with a knife after knocking me out cold, and that's when Ronnie said that she found me and threatened Markie that if he didn't put me down, she'd punch him out."

Ricky chuckled. "He put you down after that, didn't he?"

Lenny smiled and said, "He sure did. I couldn't believe that even though she didn't know me she actually threatened to punch him out. And I didn't think about that until now…" Lenny paused and saw that Ricky was giving him a look. So, he said quickly, "And so she took me in, gave me stitches, and when I woke up, I was in this bed and ate pancakes."

"I see." Ricky said with a smile. "So pretty much, after that, you became my sister's _novio_."1

"Huh?" Lenny asked. "What's a _novio_?"

"Ask Ronnie, she'll tell you." Ricky said. "So, after that you met Andre, right?"

"Yeah." Lenny said. "He found where Ronnie lived and told me that he was sorry for what his cousin did. And after that, we became friends."

"All right, that explains everything." Ricky said. "So, d'you think you could find your friends…?"

"Hey, Lenny!"

Ricky watched as he saw two leopard sharks and a white tip swim towards them. "Who're they?"

"Those are my friends." Lenny said.

"Hey, Lenny!" Jamel said.

"Hey Jamel." Lenny said. "Hey Andre."

"Hey." Andre said.

"Okay, forget the hellos for a second, I've gotta show you someone!" Jamel said. He pointed over to the leopard shark next to him. "This is my brother J.T. He came from another city and he's cool and…!"

"Whoa, Jamel!" J.T. said. "Keep the intro short and sweet, a'ight? I'm not that important."

"Yes you are!" Jamel said. "You're cool!"

"Yeah, whateva." J.T said, rolling his eyes. Then he turned to Lenny. "So, you're Lenny?"

"Yup." Lenny said. "Nice to meet you."

"And I see that Jamel's not the only one who brought someone with him." Andre commented. "Who's he?"

"Oh! You guys, this is Ricky." Lenny said. "Ricky, these are the guys."

"How's it goin'?" Ricky said.

"How do you know Lenny?" Jamel asked. "You his friend or somethin'?"

"Actually, I just met him." Ricky said. "He knows my sister Ronnie, and I met him in her kitchen."

"Your Ronnie's brother?" Andre asked.

"Yup." Ricky said casually.

"Hmm, I thought she was an only child." Jamel said. "Anyway, since you're her brother, there are some things you should know." He added with a smirk directed towards Lenny.

"Like what?" Ricky asked.

"Okay." Jamel said quickly. "I was delivering this pizza, and I forgot my tip so I went back to get it, and when I came back Lenny and Ronnie were… oof!"

Lenny had tackled Jamel and covered his mouth, preventing him from saying anything. Andre and J.T. watched this and laughed, while Ricky floated there and looked confused.

'_Lenny and Ronnie what?' _he thought.

Lenny was still wrestling with Jamel, and said was saying to him, "Don't you say anything about that!"

"Why not?" Jamel said, his voice muffled.

"Because he threatened me!" Lenny said, uncovering Jamel's mouth.

"Ah, I see. He went into 'protective big brother' mode on you, huh?" Jamel said.

Lenny nodded his head and Jamel laughed.

"What'd he say?" Jamel said. "'Touch my sister and you're dead?'"

"Yup." Lenny said.

"All right, I won't tell him." Jamel said. "But when he finds out on his own, you should know that you're in trouble."

"Thanks for the tip." Lenny said.

"Hey! Are you guys gonna give us a tour or nor?" J.T. called out.

"Yeah! We're comin'!" Jamel shouted back.

So, Jamel, Andre, and Lenny proceeded to give J.T. and Ricky a tour of the city.

_Scene Change_

Ronnie swam into the 'Pool Place,' looking for her friend Shelly. She was looking around, when suddenly a shark grabbed her from behind.

"Hey there girly." He said in a gravelly voice. "You come around here often?"

"No." Ronnie said, trying to wriggle free from the shark's grasp. But she wasn't able to get out.

"Ya know, you're pretty." The shark said. "How's about you and I go get a soda?"

Ronnie was able to wriggle free, and gave the shark a glare. "No." She said, getting annoyed.

"Aww, c'mon." The shark said, reaching out to touch her.

Ronnie slapped the shark's fin. "No." She said in an extremely annoyed tone. "Now leave me alone. I've got two friends and a brother who wouldn't like the way you're treating me."

The shark just laughed and said, "Oh really? And who are these friends that you speak of?"

"One of them is Shelly. She works here." Ronnie said. "The other one's name is Lenny…"

The shark put on a surprised face. "Lenny?" He asked.

"Yes, Lenny." Ronnie said. "How do you know him?"

"Everybody around here knows him! He's a pool shark! He beat Willie at a game of pool in only one try!" The shark said. "All you had to do was say that you're him!" He added, moving out the way. "I'll just go back to playing pool."

Ronnie watched as the shark swam away to a pool table. _'Lenny's a pool shark?' _Ronnie thought. She continued to look for Shelly, and because she wasn't paying attention, she bumped into somebody, also knocking over the shark's cup.

"Oh!" Ronnie apologized. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… well… here." Ronnie picked up the cup and placed it on the table. "Sorry again. And hey, d'you happen to know where Shelly is?"

"You've found her."

Ronnie looked up and saw that she had found Shelly all along. Shelly seemed to recognize Ronnie too.

"Ronnie?" Shelly said in surprised voice. "Is that you?"

Ronnie nodded her head and smiled slightly.

"I haven't seen you in a long time!" Shelly said. "Sure, it's probably only been a month or so, but that's still a long time! Well, don't just float here! Come in, sit down, and get a soda!"

"That's okay; I'm not very thirst…" Ronnie began, until Shelly cut her off.

"Oh no, I insist." Shelly said, taking Ronnie by the fin and leading her to a table in front of the bar. She took out two sodas and gave one to Ronnie, keeping the other for herself.

Ronnie rolled her eyes and decided to drink the soda anyway. That was one personality trait that she like about Shelly; she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"So, what brings you here?" Shelly asked. "Don't worry about the drink, it's free."

"Well, I came here because I wanted to invite you somewhere." Ronnie explained. "Do you know about that talent show going on tonight?"

"Yeah." Shelly said. "Don't know if I'll go though."

"Would you change your mind if you knew that I was gonna be in it?" Ronnie asked with a smile.

Shelly gasped. "You're gonna be in it? Well in that case, I'll be there!" She paused to take a sip of her soda. "So, what're you doing?"

"Salsa dancing." Ronnie said.

"You finally mastered that dance?" Shelly asked.

"Why does everybody keep asking me that?" Ronnie said in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry, but it's just that… nobody ever thought that you'd get it right." Shelly said.

"Well, I did, so in your face!" Ronnie said childishly, sticking out her tongue.

Shelly stuck out her tongue too; just like they used to do when they were kids. She laughed and said, "So, who's your partner?"

"This guy named Lenny." Ronnie said.

"Lenny?" Shelly asked. "You mean the guy who finally beat Willie at his own game?"

"He must really be somethin'." Ronnie said.

"He sure his! He's a pool shark!" Shelly said. "So… you like him?"

"Maybe." Ronnie said.

"Oooh." Shelly said, smirking at Ronnie.

"Stop it!" Ronnie said. "It's not that serious!"

"Riiiiiight." Shelly said, still smirking. "Well I'll tell you something missy, if it's not that serious, I'll take him off you fins. You wouldn't mind that, now would you?"

Ronnie glared at Shelly. "Shut up."

"You know it's true." Shelly said. "And I will not shut up. I have freedom of speech." She stopped and stared and Ronnie with an annoying smirk.

"Fine, it's true!" Ronnie said. "Just stop staring at me like that!"

"Ha! I knew I'd get you to confess!" Shelly said triumphantly. "I'm just cool like that."

"Don't make me hurt you." Ronnie said in mock anger.

"Sorry." Shelly said with a half smile.

"Well, I guess I better be going." Ronnie said. "I've gotta get ready and… my brother came to visit me today."

"Ricky's back?" Shelly said as she watched Ronnie nod her head. "Well then, I'll see you at the talent show…hey!" Shelly swam up to two barracudas that were fighting. "Sorry about this Ronnie! See you later on!" she called back to Ronnie while trying to break the two up.

Ronnie chuckled and shook her head as she swam out the door. She had seen why she was considered perfect for this job. So, swimming back to her house, she got ready for the contest.

_Scene Change_

Markie swam up to Willie, who was swimming through the city.

"What do you want?" Willie asked.

"Remember how I said that I could get revenge for you?" Markie said.

"Yeah." Willie said. "You said to meet you on July second."

"Well, I need you to go with me to the talent show." Markie said. "I thought we could wait until July second, but this way, we can get him early."

"How?" Willie asked. "Don't we also want to get his girlfriend?"

"Exactly." Markie said. "You see, he and his girlfriend will be in the talent show. When they get out, we'll kidnap his girlfriend, get him to come to us, and beat him up. Easy as that."

Willie grinned an evil grin. "I like the way you think. But, there's one problem. The guy's friends will notice us."

"Exactly the reason why we're getting those shady trench coats." Markie said. "Now c'mon!"

So, as Willie and Markie swam to the costume store to start trouble, other creatures had no idea of the plan that was going down.

_TBC…_

_Bum, bum, bum! Markie's plan is gonna go into action! What's he gonna do to Ronnie? How will Ricky be of importance in this story? And what about the mafia? Will they see Lenny in the talent show? Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie!_

Novio- Spanish word for boyfriend.

_And for all those who told me what the words I didn't know were, thanx for putting up with my stupidity. Plus, I've updated my profile so you can see my new characters' profiles._

_R&R pleez!_


	12. Styrofoam shoes and threats!

_Author's Note: I'm back with another chappie! Go me! _

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Yup, the over protective brother. And maybe there will be a fight… maybe not. **

**The Crouching Tiger Shark- (rubs her head like a fortune teller) I predict… that in this chappie… Ricky will want to strangle Lenny… and Markie will get what's comin' to him… and… there will be songs on the radio? (Stops acting like a fortune teller) This certainly will NOT end well! **

_And just to warn you, Lenny and Ronnie will cuss, and Lenny will also say a very mean threat. It's one A.M… please review._

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Twelve: Talent Show Night Part Two**

Ronnie looked at herself in the mirror, trying to put on her locket. She had put on red coral number three lip gloss and if she added the locket, she'd look prettier than she already did.

"Stupid locket." Ronnie growled. She was never able to get it on by herself, and her fins always tired of trying to put it together.

"Ronnie…?"

Ronnie turned around and saw Lenny's head peeking from the door.

"Lenny, you came just in time!" Ronnie said. "Here, could you help me put this thing on?" she added, gesturing to the locket.

Lenny swam in the bathroom, taking the locket in his fins and beginning to tie it around Ronnie's neck. Since he was behind her, he could see how she looked in the mirror.

'_She's pretty…' _He thought, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"Uh… Lenny?" Ronnie said. "Lenny… snap out of it!" She clapped her fins in his face, startling him so badly that he nearly fell over.

"What?" Lenny said, confused. "What just happened?"

"You were zoning out." Ronnie replied.

"Oh, sorry." Lenny said. "Hey, uh… what's that locket for?"

"Oh, it's my mom's, mom's, mom's, mom's, mom's." Ronnie said. "It was passed down for a long time in my family."

"Wow." Lenny said. "So, it's like a traditional thing?"

Ronnie nodded her head, and seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Lenny knew that it probably meant a lot to her.

"As important as it is, why're you wearing it?" Lenny asked. "You're just as pretty without it."

Ronnie looked up at Lenny, smiled, and gave him a quick kiss, leaving him dazed. "Thanks." She said. She looked up at the surprised look on his face, and pretended not to notice. "Oh, and you better wipe the lip gloss of your lips." She said nonchalantly. "If my brother sees that, he'll kill you."

Snapping back to reality, Lenny remembered the threat he had received from Ricky. Rushing over to a nearby towel, he tried to wipe the lip gloss from his lips… but it wouldn't come off!

"Ronnie! The lip gloss won't come off!" Lenny said.

"That's because you have to get it off with something wet." Ronnie said. She grabbed a paper towel, wet it under the faucet, and handed it to Lenny.

"I knew that." Lenny said, trying to wipe the lip gloss off his lips with the paper towel. It came off that time. "Thanks Ronnie."

"No prob." Ronnie said casually.

Just as they were leaning in for a kiss…

"Ahem!"

Lenny and Ronnie turned to see Ricky leaning against the door. Lenny and Ronnie quickly broke apart, trying to act like nothing happened.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Ricky said with an eyebrow raised.

"Umm… no!" Ronnie said. "We were just…"

"Talking!" Lenny lied.

"Yeah! What he said!" Ronnie said. She could see that Ricky was about to say something, so she added, "Me and Lenny were just about to go to the Poetry Corner, because… it said that all performers were supposed to be there early! So… I'll just be waiting for Lenny outside!"

Lenny gave Ronnie a 'thank-for-saving-our-butts' look, and Ronnie gave Lenny a 'you're-welcome-but-you-owe-me-for-this' look before dashing out the door. Lenny looked at Ricky, who was glaring at him. He knew that he had probably been there long enough to know what was going on.

"Uh… I guess I'll just go with Ronnie." Lenny said nervously, wasting no time in escaping the wrath of the protective older brother.

Ricky watched as Lenny swam away and shook his head. _'I hope he doesn't try anything at the contest.' _He thought. _'Then I'd have to kill him.'_

Little did he know that what Lenny was doing to Ronnie was in no way as bad as what someone else would try to do to her…

_Scene Change_

**If I could find you now things would get better**

**We could leave this town and run forever**

_Click!_

**I'm gonna soak up the sun**

**I'm gonna tell everyone to lighten up**

_Click!_

**You know I've got**

**What it takes to make the club go outta control**

_Click!_

**Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey!**

**Macho, macho man…**

"Luca, will you turn that damned radio off!"

Luca the octopus grumbled and muttered a nasty comment, but did as he was told.

"I don't even know why we let you bring that thing." Michael growled.

Luca had found out about the four shark's plan to get out the ship and find Lenny, so he decided to tag along too. When he told the four that he was going to bring his portable radio, they protested, but he blackmailed them by saying that if they didn't let him bring his radio, he'd tell everyone that they were trying to find Lenny. And, because they didn't want everyone trying to come, they let Luca bring his radio.

"He blackmailed us, remember?" Jimmy said.

"Oh yeah." Michael said.

"Hey, you guys!" Cody said. "I've found the Poetry Corner! Ya see, it's straight ahead!"

"Yeah, there it is!" Giuseppe said, pointing straight. "Right besides that dark alley!"

"Well what're we waiting for?" Luca said. "Let's go!"

As the five swam towards the Poetry Corner, they spotted two sharks in the alley.

"Hey, wait up!" Giuseppe whispered. "There are two sharks in the alley!"

"They're probably in the talent show." Cody said.

"Ooh!" Luca said excitedly. "I wanna meet them and possibly get an autograph!"

"Uhh… I don't think they wanna be disturbed right now." Giuseppe said.

"Well why not?" Luca asked. "What're they doing?"

"They're uh… playing a game." Giuseppe said. "A hockey game."

"So?" Luca said. "I'll just interrupt their hockey game!"

"Uh… I don't think you should do that." Giuseppe said. "It's not an ordinary hockey game."

"Well what type of hockey game is it?" Luca asked.

"Uh… it begins with a 'ton' and ends with a 'sil." Giuseppe tried to explain.

"I don't get it." Luca said, scratching his head.

Michael and Cody got what Giuseppe was trying to say, so Cody said,

"Uh… I don't think they want to sign any autographs!"

"Besides," Michael added, "The show hasn't even started to play yet, so they haven't even won!"

"I wanna get in and get some seats!" Jimmy whined.

Luca sighed. "Fine. But if they win, I'm gettin' an autograph."

So, the five swam into the Poetry Corner to get some seats.

Meanwhile, Ricky was swimming past the alley, when he also spotted the kissing couple. He thought it was just a pair of sharks who were on a date, and began to swim into the Poetry Corner, but realized who they were when he saw a glimpse of gold.

'_That's my sister! That guy is messing with my sister!' _Ricky thought. _'I'm gonna kill Lenny…'_

Pulling up invisible sleeves, Ricky swam towards them, but was stopped by a fin on his shoulder. Ricky turned his head around and saw that it was J.T.

"Don't do it man." J.T. said. "If you interrupt them, Ronnie will hate you."

"But he's messin' with my sister!" Ricky protested.

"By the way he's goin', it's probably not the first time." J.T. said. "Besides…" He added with a grin, "You can get him after the show is over."

Ricky stopped trying to go and kill Lenny and grinned back. "You're right." He said. "But… you won't tell Ronnie about this, will ya?"

"Of course not." J.T. said. "Now c'mon! Jamel and Andre are holdin' seats for us! And, I even heard that Shelly was able to come!"

So, J.T. and Ricky swam inside the Poetry Corner, trying to look for Jamel and Andre among the masses of creatures.

When J.T. and Ricky swam inside, a group of two swam in the back alley of the Poetry Corner. It was Markie and Willie.

"Now, here's the plan." Markie was saying. "After the talent show, Ronnie and Lenny will come out the side door of the Poetry Corner. We'll nab Ronnie, and tell Lenny that if he doesn't come with us, we'll kill her." He pulled a knife out of a pocket in his trench coat.

"Nice." Willie said. "But, for another thing… what if the girl comes out and Lenny ain't with her?"

"Then, we'll nab Ronnie, and drag her to this back alley. Before Lenny comes out, I'll talk to her. I've got some things I need to do…" Markie said, but he was cut off.

"Avas' ye!"

A drunken anglerfish dressed up as a pirate jumped out of nowhere and landed on Willie.

"What the…?"

"Many a day have I been 'pon the seas!" The drunken anglerfish said.

"Get off me!" Willie shouted, pushing the fish off him. "Let's go Markie."

So, Markie and Willie swam into the Poetry Corner, about to put their plan into action. But, little did Willie know, that he had left behind a very important piece of information… and it was in the fins of an intoxicated anglerfish.

_Scene Change_

Lenny and Ronnie were backstage with the two other contestants. One was a rather skinny Lionfish, while the other was a buffed up barracuda.

"Well, this is it." Ronnie said. "The big day."

"Big day? You're making it sound like your wedding night." Lenny joked.

"Okay, so the not-as-big-as-the-other-big day." Ronnie said. "But still, it's big."

"I guess so." Lenny said. "Ooh! The announcers are starting the show!"

Onstage, a leopard shark and lantern fish were beginning the show.

"Hi, I'm Jada." The leopard shark said.

"And I'm Louis." The lantern fish said.

"We'll be your announcers for the night." Jada said.

"Now, we're all here for one reason." Louis said. "And that's to see our friends, maybe even family, perform for us tonight!"

"That's right Louis." Jada said. "It took us a while, but we found the three contestants who would be onstage tonight."

"Don't you mean four?" Louis asked. "One of the contestants has a partner?"

"Fine then, we've got _four_ contestants on here tonight." Jada said, rolling her eyes.

"That's right, and only one of the four contestants will be getting the prize money!" Louis said.

"Don't you mean only one or two of the four contestants will be getting the money?" Jada said. "One of our contestants has a partner."

"Whatever." Louis said. "And, the judges over there will be deciding who wins. That being said, I'd like to introduce our first contestant, who'll be singing a Christmas song for us, Lily!"

Backstage, Ronnie and Lenny swam over to the lionfish.

"Good luck." Ronnie whispered to Lily.

"I don't _need_ any luck." Lily returned in a haughty tone before she swam onto the stage.

"Somebody's cranky." Lenny mumbled.

Lily the lionfish swam out onto the stage and grabbed the microphone. Music started to play, calming everybody. However, Lily's voice wouldn't calm anybody.

"Oh holy night! The stars are brightly shining! It is the night…" Lily screeched.

Creatures onstage and offstage held their ears. It pained them to hear her voice.

"Allllllll on your kneeeeessss!" Lily belted out, causing the audience and other contestants to groan. "For heeeee is… ummm…. borrrnnnn…"

Michael couldn't take it anymore. "Shut up!" He yelled. "You can't sing! And another thing; it's not anywhere near Christmas!"

The audience laughed at this contest, as well did the judges, commentators, and other contestants. Lily, however, didn't find any of this funny.

"Humph!" She huffed. "You're so hurtful!" She swam off the stage and out the door.

"Uh… okay." Jada said. "Glad that's over."

"Since Lily swam off the stage, she's been disqualified." Louis said. "But now, for our next contestant, who'll be lifting waits for us, Herman!"

"Good luck." Lenny said to the barracuda.

"Thank you, same to you." Herman said. He swam out onto the stage, carrying two heavy weights.

Herman lifted the weights with ease, astonishing the audience. He wrapped his tail around both the weights and lifted them up without even looking tired, earning claps from the audience.

"That guy is good." Andre whispered to Jamel. "Don't ya think so Jamel?"

But, Jamel didn't answer. He was looking at Jada the commentator. For some reason, he was mesmerized with her.

"Jamel!" Andre whispered loudly, breaking him from his trance.

"Huh?" Jamel said. "What?"

"I wanted to know if you thought that the guy up there is good." Andre said.

"Oh… er… yeah!" Jamel said. "He's a real macho man."

With one last daring stunt, Herman the barracuda lifted both the weights up with his tongue, earning cheers and applause from the audience. He took a bow, and swam backstage.

"Well…" Louis said, "That was… strong."

"Yeah. Did ya see the way he lifted the things with his tongue?" Jada said.

"I think everybody noticed that." Louis said. "But for now, we should be introducing our next contestants, the one with a partner."

"Ah, yes." Jada said. "Introducing the couple who'll be doing a bit of dancing for us, Lenny and Ronnie!"

Michael, Jimmy, Luca, Giuseppe, and Cody all had shocked expressions on their faces. If they had been drinking anything, they would've all spat out their drinks or choked on them.

"So Lenny _is_ here!" Cody whispered to the guys.

Lenny and Ronnie swam onstage, and music began to play. Then, they started dancing.

"Where'd he learn to dance like that?" Giuseppe said.

"Forget that!" Cody said. "Where'd he get a hot partner?"

"Hey!"

Luca heard a whisper from his left side, and saw a shark leaning towards him.

"That's my sister!" Ricky whispered to him.

Luca smiled and gave a thumbs up. Then, he whispered to Cody, "That's his sister."

"Aww man!" Cody said. "I have to go through a protective brother!"

"Shhh!" Jimmy shushed. "I'm watching the dance!"

Lenny and Ronnie were doing the same dance that they had been practicing, only they were flirting too. There were a couple of rubs, and small kisses, and they were like professionals, so nobody noticed; nobody, that is, except Ricky. Ricky was doing all he could to not go onstage and strangle Lenny.

'_I thought I made my warning loud and clear: not touching!' _Ricky thought. _'Oh, just wait until he gets off stage…'_

Lenny noticed Ricky's threatening look, and felt afraid to face him when he got off the stage. He also noticed a group of familiar faces; unfortunately, it he noticed the faces at the same time he was doing the dip part of the dance…

'_Oh snap, it's the mob!' _Lenny thought. _'Aww man, what am I gonna do now…'_

"Oww!"

Lenny snapped back to reality and saw that he had dropped Ronnie, earning laughs from the audience. Ronnie was lying on the stage, glaring at him.

"Sorry." Lenny whispered with a sheepish smile. He picked her up, and continued to dance. They closed it up with the grand finale, then swam offstage. (Sorry if I wasn't descriptive… I'm not good at dance scenes.)

"That was fun!" Jada said.

"It sure was." Louis said. "Though I was laughing when he dropped her."

"I don't think they expected that to happen." Jada said with a chuckle.

"Well, right now, we're waiting for the judges to decide who our winners will be." Louis said. "Will all the contestants swim on the stage?"

Ronnie, Lenny, and Herman all swam onstage, hoping to hear their name.

The judges were conversing with each other, before one of them finally nodded their head.

"Any moment now… look! They've decided!" Louis said, taking a sheet of paper. He opened it. "And the winner is…"

"I'm crossing my fins…" Andre whispered to Ricky.

"We all are." Ricky whispered back.

"Herman!"

Everyone could sense the look of disappointment on Lenny and Ricky's face, and the audience clapped slowly. After that 'dropping' incident, they had hoped to see Lenny and Ronnie win. Plus, they were kind of cute.

"Thank you, thank you." Herman said, accepting the money and taking a bow. While he was bowing, he failed to notice the pills that had fallen from his pocket.

"Hold it!" Jada said, picking up the pills. "These are steroids!"

The audience gasped, and murmurs and hushed whispers broke out. Herman looked around nervously, then darted off the stage.

"Due to the fact that Herman was using drugs, he has been disqualified!" One of the judges said. "So, the winners of the contest are Lenny and Ronnie!"

Cheers erupted from the room as well as a numerous amount of applause. Delighted smiles broke out on Lenny and Ronnie's faces as they accepted the money.

"So," Jada said, swimming over to Lenny and Ronnie, "how does it feel to win a million clams?"

"Umm… good?" Lenny answered.

"And uh… are you single?" Louis said, directing his question towards Ronnie.

"Uhhh…" was all that Ronnie could say.

"Louis! Get away from the girl!" Jada said. "Well, that's our show! Good night folks!"

Lenny and Ronnie swam backstage, going to use the side door for an exit.

"That was fun!" Lenny said.

"All except for one part." Ronnie said, referring to when Lenny dropped her.

"Sorry." Lenny said. "But I can't believe it! We won the million clams!"

"Yeah." Ronnie said, swimming over to the door. "Hey Lenny, you comin'?"

"Umm…" Lenny thought of the mafia and how they might be waiting for him. "No! Just wait for me outside, kay?"

Ronnie shrugged. "All right." As soon as she swam out the door, she was grabbed and had fins covering her mouth so she couldn't breathe.

_Scene Change_

Ronnie was struggling to get out of Willie's grasp. "Let me go!" She shouted. "Let me go!"

"Shut her up!" Markie said to Willie.

Willie slapped Ronnie across the face, leaving a red mark and making Ronnie stop squirming.

"Hello there, Ronnie." Markie said with an evil grin. "I think we've met before."

"You bastard." Ronnie growled. "What do you want?"

"It's not you I want." Markie said. "It's your boyfriend that concerns me. He embarrassed me at a night club, and I can't have that."

"Why don't you just leave him alone?" Ronnie said. "From what I heard, it's your fault he punched you anyway. And I bet you got what was coming to you…"

"Shut up!" Markie snarled. "Just because you're a girl, doesn't mean that I won't hurt you."

"Screw you." Ronnie shot back.

"Ah, but it is you that it about to be screwed." Markie said.

Ronnie's eyes widened. She knew what Markie was thinking of.

"No!" She shouted, struggling to get away. "Let me go! Help!"

"Hold her down!" Markie shouted, pulling out a knife.

Willie's grip on Ronnie was tightened, making it almost impossible for her to move. Markie got into Ronnie's face and hissed evilly,

"Now, if you go quietly, I won't have to hurt you."

"No!" Ronnie shouted, punching him the nose.

Markie wiped the blood from his nose and said, "Oh well. I tried." He advanced towards Ronnie, the knife glinting…

"Hey, buddy! The girl said no!"

Markie turned around and saw Giuseppe, Jimmy, Michael, Cody, and Luca all glaring at him.

"Holy cow, it's the cops!" Willie shouted. He let go of Ronnie and swam for his life, leaving Markie to handle the situation by himself.

"Now, see here!" Michael said threateningly. "Leave her alone or you'll have us to deal with!"

Markie thought about telling him to buzz off, but decided not to when he saw the other guys looking like they were ready to hurt him. He gave Michael a nasty glare before swimming off. Cody swam over to Ronnie and said,

"Are you okay?"

"I guess so." Ronnie said. "But… you don't know me. Why'd you help me?"

"We may not know you, but we do know Lenny." Giuseppe replied.

Ronnie's eyes widened. "Oh my god… you're the mob!"

"Yes we are." Jimmy said.

"So, uh…" Cody swam over to Ronnie and put a fin around her. "Are you single?"

Luca pulled Cody away from her and slapped him upside the head. "Are ya stupid? She just goes through an almost trauma, and you decide to ask her if she's single?"

"Yes." Cody said stupidly. "So… are you single?"

"No." Ronnie said in an annoyed tone. "And even if I was, I wouldn't go out with you."

"Burn!" Luca and Jimmy shouted, high-finning each other.

"She told you, Cody." Giuseppe said.

"Turned down again…" Cody mumbled.

Ronnie laughed. "Thanks again."

"Fuggedaboutit." Michael said with a casual smile. "It's what we do. However… we do ask for one thing in return."

"What is it?" Ronnie asked.

"Could ya tell us how Lenny's doin'?"

"Sure!" Ronnie said. "He's doing fine! We came here to get the million clams so he could buy this ship."

"Where'd he stay before?" Luca asked.

"With me." Ronnie said.

The five looked at each other and smiled. "Mmm, hmm." They all said.

"But on a serious note," Giuseppe said, "why was that guy after you?"

"Actually, he wasn't after me." Ronnie replied. "He was after Lenny."

"Lenny?" Cody said unbelievingly. "What'd he do?"

"You see, he punched him out at this night club…" Ronnie began.

"Lenny punched somebody out?" Michael said. "But… he's the most peaceful guy I know!"

"Not anymore." Ronnie said. "So then, I found him being carried out by Markie, and threatened him so that he'd leave Lenny alone, and carried him back to my place, and then the next morning, we ate shrimp pancakes…"

"Shrimp pancakes?" The five said incredulously. "But… but… he's a vegetarian!"

"Now he's omnivorous." Ronnie said.

"Okay… but still." Giuseppe said. "That doesn't explain why Markie was trying to get you."

"He nabbed me because I'm the closet thing to Lenny." Ronnie explained. "He knew that once he got me, he'd negotiate with Lenny, (his choices were either to go with him or I die) and he'd have to go with him."

"Whoa." Cody said. "We had a right to be worried about Lenny."

"Yeah." Luca said. "Well, we've gotta go now. Tell Lenny that we said hi."

"All right!" Ronnie said as she watched the five swim away. "Bye!"

Ronnie watched until the five were out of sight, and suddenly noticed that her neck felt cold. Touching her neck, she realized the problem; her locket was gone!

'_It must've fallen off during the struggle.' _Ronnie thought. Turning around, she saw her gold chain glinting from under the sand. She swam back towards the back alley, dug under the sand, and retrieved her locket. Just as she was about to leave, she was grabbed from behind; by Markie!

"I'm baaaack." Markie hissed in her ear.

Fear gripped Ronnie's throat. This time, if she struggled, he would slice her throat; the knife made her sure of that.

"Now this time, you're going with me, and you won't make a sound." Markie growled.

Ronnie knew better than to listen to that. "Hellllppp…!"

Markie sliced her shoulder, creating a large gash and covered her mouth. "Shut up!"

Even though she was in pain, Ronnie managed to elbow Markie in the stomach and bite the fin around her mouth, causing him to growl in pain. She swam back to the side alley and desperately looked around for help; Markie had recovered from the bite and was swimming towards her. Not being able to think straight, Ronnie wasn't able to call out for help; but her mind began to function right when she saw Markie swim off. She turned around and saw Lenny coming out the door. She rushed over to him in tears, and clung to him.

"Ronnie! What's wrong?" Lenny said. He looked at her shoulder in shock. "You're bleeding! Who did this to you?"

Between sobs, Ronnie managed to answer, "I was grabbed by this whale, and Markie swam over to me, and he had a knife! And then he tried to… he tried to…" At that point, Ronnie broke down. Lenny didn't even need to hear the rest to know what he tried to do.

"Did you see which way he went?" Lenny asked.

Ronnie pointed towards the back alley, still crying.

"All right." Lenny said in a calm voice. "Now look. Ricky and the rest of the guys are out in the front. You go over there, tell them what Markie did. They'll help you out, okay?"

Ronnie nodded her head, her crying dying down a bit.

"Good." Lenny said. "I've gotta go find Markie…"

Ronnie watched as Lenny began to swim away. "Wait!" She said. "Don't do anything bad!"

Lenny looked back and managed a small smile. "Don't worry. I won't do anything that I'll regret."

"Oh, and Lenny!"

Lenny turned around to hear Ronnie say, "The mafia guys said hi."

Lenny gave her a smile and swam off.

Ronnie watched as Lenny swam away and then went to go find Ricky and the rest of the guys.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam in the direction that Ronnie had said was where Markie was last seen. He wasn't going to let Markie get away with what he just did.

'_It's a good thing she told me that the mob was here. They can probably help me.' _Lenny thought. _'But how am I supposed to find them? They might already be gone…'_

Just as soon as he thought that, he heard,

"Wow, I hope that Lenny's okay."

Lenny noticed that voice. It belonged to Cody! Luckily, Cody and the gang had swum into the alley in which Lenny was floating. They all looked at Lenny with shock in their eyes.

"Of course I'm okay." Lenny said with a small smile.

Without any warning, the five mob members tackled Lenny in a big hug.

"We missed you!" Cody said. "Man, we've got some things we need to catch up on…"

"Look, that has to wait," Lenny said, "Right now, I need some help."

"Anything." Giuseppe said. "It sounds important!"

"All right, look…" Lenny said, "You wouldn't happen to have any… styrofoam on your fins, would you?"

"I've got some!" Luca said, pulling out two chunks of styrofoam. "I always keep them with me, just in case."

"Well… do ya think I could use it?" Lenny asked.

"What for?" Jimmy questioned.

"Things." Lenny replied abruptly.

"Well… sure!" Luca said. "Why not?" Luca handed Lenny the styrofoam chunks.

"Thanks you guys!" Lenny shouted as he swam away. "And tell pops that I said hi!"

The five watched as Lenny swam away, knowing that this might've been the last time that they'll see him. But they all said one thing;

"We will."

_Scene Change_

Markie swam out in the outskirts of the city. He was cursing himself and Willie for messing up his chance.

"I could've had her!" Markie was growling. "But then those guys decided to mess up my plan, and Willie decided to swim away like a sissy! If it hadn't been for them, I would've already gotten to Lenny! And that girl wasn't helping much either! Grrrr, I'll get him one day, and if I can't get Lenny, I'll settle for the girl."

Markie was going to continue growling, but his thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, expecting it to be Willie with an apology; but all he got was a blast of pain. Lenny had punched Markie in the face, breaking his nose and giving him a black eye. The force had sent Markie flying across the sea, and he landed in the sand. Markie was dazed for a moment, but scrambled back up. He should've stayed down though; that way, he wouldn't have to deal with a very angry Lenny.

"What the hell was going on through your head when you decided to kidnap her? Huh?" Lenny had grabbed Markie and was shaking him violently.

"Oh, that was your girl?" Markie said in a taunting voice with a smile to match. "Well let me tell you, she had a nice…"

_Sucker Punch!_

Markie now had black bruise on his cheek and another black eye to match his right one. He was lying in the sand, trying to recover.

"Don't talk about her that way!" Lenny growled. "She didn't do anything to you! In fact, you should be thankful that she's around!"

Unfortunately for him, Markie didn't know when to stop. "Oh really?" He said sarcastically. "And why is that?"

Lenny grabbed Markie's ear, earning a cry of pain from him.

"Because," He whispered in Markie's ear with a menacing tone, "If she wasn't here, I would've killed you right now."

For the first time in his life, Markie was scared. He had nothing to say, and decided that he wasn't going to say anything that would mad Lenny even madder.

"Now that we've got that covered, how about you and I go on a little trip?" Lenny said, giving Markie a glance at the styrofoam shoes.

"Styrofoam shoes!" Markie gasped.

"That's right." Lenny said. "And they're just for you. Now c'mon."

Markie gulped as Lenny dragged him further away from the city. This definitely was not his night.

_Scene Change_

"What's taking them so long?" Ricky asked, glancing at his fin as if he were wearing a watch.

"Maybe they're celebrating!" Andre suggested, until he got a glare from Ricky. "Or, maybe not."

"Hey, here she comes!" Shelly said.

Ricky, J.T., Andre, Jamel and Shelly watched as Ronnie swam towards them. Ricky swam over to his sister, wanting to know what happened.

"Hey, what took you so long? Were you making yourself pretty?" Ricky joked. "Now, where's Lenny? I have to kill him."

Ronnie didn't answer, nor did she look up at Ricky. Ricky was no dummy. He knew that something was wrong.

"Ronnie… are you okay?" Ricky asked in a deeply concerned voice.

Ronnie looked up at Ricky, and he saw a look that he had never seen before. There was no life in her eyes, and she looked scared as well as sad. Ricky reached out and touched her shoulder. "Ronnie I…" He stopped when he noticed something red on his fin. "Holy mackerel, you're bleeding!"

At this point, the other guys swam over to Ronnie.

"What's wrong?" Jamel asked.

"She's bleeding." Ricky said.

"How'd this happen?" Andre questioned in a scared voice.

"I don't know!" Ricky said. "And she's got a red mark on her face!" He looked at Ronnie. "Ronnie… could you tell us about what happened?"

Ronnie didn't answer, she only stared off into space. She was shaking slightly, but she wasn't crying.

"It looks like she was crying." Shelly said. She swam over to Ricky. "Let me try to figure out what happened. I think I can get her to talk."

Ricky nodded his head and swam away from his sister and Shelly. He had never seen her like this before. He looked over at Ronnie; she seemed to be talking, though it was probably in a shaky voice. After what seemed like forever, Shelly swam over to Ricky and friends.

"So?" J.T. demanded. "What happened?"

Shelly shook her head and replied, "She was cut by a knife by Markie. Then, he tried to rape her, but luckily, he never got to."

"What?" Ricky exploded. Suddenly, Lenny's flirting with her didn't seem like anything. "I'm gonna kill him…!"

"I think that Lenny's already beat you to that." Shelly said. "Ronnie said that Lenny went to find Markie."

"Whoa." Andre said. "But I don't think he'll kill him. Just… give him a message."

"Yeah," Jamel said, "If I know Lenny, he'll probably just punch him or something…"

"Ronnie!"

Shelly, J.T., Andre, and Jamel had turned to see that Ronnie had collapsed.

"She's lost a lot of blood!" Ricky said. "We've gotta get an ambulance!"

"I'll get it!" Jamel said quickly, rushing over to the emergency room.

"I've got a handkerchief to tie up the wound!" Shelly said, pulling out a handkerchief and wrapping it around Ronnie's shoulder.

"What are we supposed to do?" J.T. and Andre asked.

"You can follow Jamel to the hospital, J.T. You might get there before him." Shelly said.

J.T. nodded his head and swam after Jamel.

"What about me?" Andre asked.

"Find Lenny." Shelly said. "He's probably outside the city."

Andre nodded his head and swam off to find Lenny. Shelly and Ricky were doing their best to stop the bleeding, but the blood kept flowing.

"We've gotta help her now!" Shelly said in an urgent voice. "If we don't…. she might not make it."

Ricky looked at Shelly with fear in his eyes. Those were one of the worst words he ever could hear.

_Scene Change_

"I knew I should've tried to get you first." Markie grumbled. "A loser like you wouldn't have done anything. I knew I should've gotten better help…"

"Well you didn't!" Lenny snapped. "Now shut your mouth or your teeth won't make the whole trip!"

You can bet that threat shut Markie up.

"Here we are." Lenny said. "Now, I've gotta set stuff up, which means that I won't be watching you. Don't try anything."

Lenny went and got the styrofoam shoes together, and estimated how much rope he would need to tie it around Markie's fins.

'_Yeah right.' _Markie thought. Though he was weak, he began to make a swim for it; but Lenny pulled him back.

"Didn't I say not to try anything?" Lenny said. He began to tie the rope attached to styrofoam to Markie's tail. Immediately, Markie began to float up to the surface.

"You better watch your back!" Markie called out. "I'll be back, and when I return, you're gonna get it!"

"Bye!" Lenny said, waving.

When Markie was at the surface, Lenny began to swim back into the city. That's when he noticed Andre swimming towards him at full speed.

"Lenny!" Andre said. "You've gotta come quick!"

"What's the matter?" Lenny asked, getting worried.

"It's Ronnie!" Andre said. "She has to go to the hospital!"

Lenny's eyes grew wide with shock. Millions of thoughts went through his mind, but he was able to say,

"Where are they?"

"They're probably still outside the Poetry Corner. C'mon!"

So, Andre and Lenny rushed back inside the city, where they would have to take Ronnie to the hospital. With any luck, she would be all right; but luck didn't really seem to be on their side.

_TBC…_

_Ronnie has to go to the hospital? Lenny made a threat? Will Markie ever come back? And will the mafia ever see Lenny again? Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie!_

_Special thanx to Insane Pirate Dragon, for givin' me the idea of styrofoam shoes._

_And I've found a voice for Markie._

**Markie- Who could do his voice: I don't know the actor's name, but I do know that he's the guy in 'Transporter 2' who says 'Hey, this just came out of the dry cleaners.**

_That's it! R&R please!_


	13. Threats and stuff!

_Author's Note: I'm back with another chappie! Go me! Oh, and expect longer update times. School is back in session, and my backpack is heavy! Plus, we've got uniforms where I am and at the school I go to, they're all strict about the uniforms. _

**Insane Pirate Dragon- He's startin' to act like his pop, only he's still got some innocence. You sure are gonna get a surprise… a BIG one.**

**The Crouching Tiger Shark- VIOLENCE! AHHH! (Runs around in circles) I'm done now… Oscar and Lenny might cross paths, but then again, they might not. Yup, Lenny got too close… and hey, Ricky didn't kill him yet, did he? You'll see Lino in this chappie, and all your other questions will be answered too. But, there will be many more unanswered questions. **

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Hey, maybe Lenny did kill Markie! (Looks around) And it was either use the faucet, or try and kiss it off again. Maybe Ronnie is okay… maybe not. Thanx for the tip about Jason Statham. Go over-the-top action movies!**

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Thirteen: Hospital Bills and Unwelcome Visitors**

Lenny swam into the emergency room. Ricky was waiting outside, because the nurse had said that only one person could come in at a time. Just as he was about to swim to Ronnie's room, he bumped into her doctor, Dr. Monty. He had startled Dr. Monty, causing him to drop his papers, and began apologizing.

"Oh!" Lenny apologized, picking up the papers and handing them to Dr. Monty. "Sorry doc. I guess I should've watched where I was going."

"You sure should have!" Dr. Monty said in an annoyed tone, trying to regain his composure. "Next time watch where you're going…" He looked up and saw that Lenny was staring at him, and his face and tone softened. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know it was you. But, since you're here… I've got something to tell you."

"It's about Ronnie, isn't it?" Lenny said in a sad tone.

"Yes it is." Dr. Monty said. "It's about her condition."

Lenny sighed. "So, what's her condition?"

"Well, I think I can explain it by saying this," Dr. Monty said with a smile. "Congratulations Lenny."

"Huh?" Lenny said, scratching his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ronnie is pregnant." Dr. Monty said. "And the DNA test we took proves the baby to be yours."

"WHAT?"

Sea creatures in the city all stuck their heads out the windows. Above the water, a group of divers looked down into the sea, and looked at each other.

"You guys… I don't think we should go down there." A frightened diver said.

The other divers nodded their heads in agreement and continued to look down into the ocean below.

_Scene Change_

The sound of laughter. The feeling of joy. That warm feeling you get when your family visits you. Those were three feelings that Oscar wasn't feeling at all. All he could do is glance out his window and sigh. Across the street from the hospital was a park, and there seemed to be a family reunion going on in there. The adult members of that family all greeted each other and hugged while the children got down to playing. The elderly family members sat around and reminisced about how Holly had a baby, while the teens basically just hung out and chatted. Oscar laughed as he saw a three year old whining over how his cousins were cheating, and how his cousins told him that he was too young. After watching for a few moments, he turned to his bed in a sigh.

'_I wish I could see my whole family…'_

Oscar could never see his whole family together. You see, his mother had died when he was five of cancer, leaving him with his father. After his mother's death, Oscar's father was thrown into a depression. Though he still took care of Oscar, it wasn't good enough, and Oscar was taken in by his grandmother. She took care of him until he was thirteen; when he turned thirteen, his father was able to take care of Oscar. Unfortunately, three years later, Oscar's father died when a piece of equipment fell on him at the Whale Wash. Oscar lied down on his bed. He could still remember seeing his father lying on his hospital bed. And even though his eyes were blurred with tears, he could still remember his father's last words; "Make a good life for yourself son."

Tears began to well up in Oscar's eyes. That memory had always made him cry.

'_My dad told me to make a good life for myself.' _He thought. _'And I'm not doing that. I mean, look at my life now! I live in a penthouse, have lots of fame, and all the money I could ever think of; but that's not a good life. I used to have a good life; it was back when I was living in an apartment and working at the Whale Wash. Sure, I was poor and always in trouble, but I still had my friends to back me up. That was my good life.'_

Oscar buried himself beneath his covers, on the verge of tears. He missed Angie, he missed Rueben, he missed Ernie and Bernie, heck! He even missed working inside a whale's mouth! But most of all, he missed Lenny.

'_Gee, I miss that big guy.' _Oscar thought. _'He was so nice… had a big heart. And then… he had to leave the city… and it's all my fault.' _

Oscar's head turned to the window as he heard a baby's cry. The cry was followed by a mother's shushing, trying to comfort it. After a while, the crying died down, and the sound of laughter was heard. Oscar smiled a weak smile, but his mood was still sad.

'_I wish I could be comforted.' _Oscar thought. _'I can't remember being comforted by my mom, and my friends won't visit me in this hospital to comfort me; I've hurt them too much. But then again, I guess I don't deserve any visitors…'_

Oscar's trails of thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Oscar, we've got a visitor for you." The high voice of the nurse said, peeking her head in the door. "Is it okay if she comes in?"

Oscar nodded his head, and the nurse went to go get the visitor.

'_Who'd want to visit me?' _Oscar thought. _'The nurse said it was a 'she'… maybe it's Angie! But then again, she'd never visit me. She's probably getting ready to move.'_

Angie was still moving; it seemed like no form of persuasion would stop her. She had two weeks until moving day. It would've been five months, but she got off the waiting list earlier than expected and was able to get the moving service to come early.

'_She's gonna move…' _Oscar thought. _'And there's nothing I can do about it…'_

'_That's not true.' _His conscious said. _'There is something you can do about it, and you know what it is.'_

Oscar's thoughts were interrupted once again when he heard someone swim into the room. He turned to face the door, and his eyes grew wide. There, in the doorway, was the last fish he ever expected to see.

_Scene Change_

Don Lino sat at his desk, trying to complete important paperwork. He seemed troubled; he was troubled, but was able to hide it. Luca swam into his study and hesitated for a moment, but decided to give him the message.

"Erm… boss?" Luca said in an uneasy voice.

"Yes?" Lino answered.

"Erm, well, I've got a message for you, but I've gotta tell ya a story before I give you the message."

"As long as it's not a long story, I'll listen." Lino said in a nonchalant voice.

"Okay." Luca said uneasily. He began to twiddle his tentacles. "You see, when da boys and I all went to dat talent show, we met one of da sharks that competed in da show, and da guy we met after the show had a message for you."

"Well what's his name?" Lino said in his casual voice, still working on his paperwork. "I don't know him."

"Actually, you do know him." Luca said. "You've known him since he was born; in fact, you were there!"

"And who would that be?" Lino asked.

"It was Lenny."

As soon as Luca said that, Lino dropped his pencil. All his attention turned to Luca, and he had a surprised expression on his face. "What?"

"I said it was Lenny." Luca said. "He told us to tell you that he said hi."

"Well, is that it?" Lino asked. "What else do you know about him?"

"That he's got some friends, so he should be okay." Luca said. "And this guy named Markie's been givin' him some trouble. But I don't think you should worry. I think he's gotten rid of that problem; he asked for styrofoam shoes."

"Lenny asked for styrofoam shoes?" Lino said unbelievingly. "But… he doesn't even_ talk_ about that!"

"That's what he did." Luca said. "And that's all so… I guess I'll be going now." With those words, Luca swam out the door, leaving Lino alone to his thoughts.

'_At least he's got some friends.' _Lino thought. _'But… styrofoam shoes? He's never even tried to learn about those before! And if he didn't put them on the right way… then that Markie guy might come back!' _Lino sighed. _'Man… why'd I have to say that he couldn't come back home! I miss him! But maybe he'll come back…'_

Lino's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of shattering glass and various shouts of "Jimmy!" Jimmy had broken something; again! Lino rubbed his head in frustration.

"Oi vey."

_Scene Change_

"Shhh!" Dr. Monty said. "Not so loud! And you heard what I said."

Lenny had just heard from Dr. Monty that Ronnie was pregnant, and he was shocked.

"But… but… how?" Lenny stuttered.

"You know how." Dr. Monty said.

"But… I'm not even married to her!" Lenny said in disbelief. "And I don't know how to take care of a pup!"

"You should've thought about that before you got her pregnant." Dr. Monty said with a shrug.

"But I didn't even do anything to her!" Lenny said in doubt.

"Uh-huh, that's what they all say." Dr. Monty. "It's your pup, Lenny."

Lenny tried to grasp everything that was going on. _'Great, I've really messed this time! Ricky is gonna kill me!' _"So, how long until they're born?"

"Six and a half months." Dr. Monty answered.

'_At least that gives me some time to get some money.' _Lenny thought. _'Wait… I've already got money! I've got the million clam reward! This gives me a chance!'_

"Oh, and there's another thing I've got to tell you about the baby." Dr. Monty said. "It won't only be one baby… they're going to be twins."

"**WHAT?"**

The city residents all stuck their heads out their windows again.

"What is with all that shouting?" An elderly lionfish said.

The group of divers had just jumped into the water, but rushed out when they heard the shout.

"I told you that we shouldn't go down there!" The frightened diver said.

"Shut up Jones." Another diver said.

_Scene Change_

Oscar stared at his visitor in surprise. There, in the doorway, was Lola.

"Hey there shark slayer." Lola said in her sensual voice. "Remember me?"

Oscar watched as Lola floated in his room, flipping her hair to get it out of her face. The light seemed to shine on her, making her even more beautiful.

'_Wow, she's pretty…' _

Oscar's brain had finally clicked in. His face turned into a frown. "Go away."

"What?" Lola said, swimming closer to Oscar. "Can't an old friend come to visit her friend?"

"Friend?" Oscar said. "You turned me and my friend into the sharks!"

"Yeah, well, you broke up with me." Lola said. "But, that's no reason. I'm sorry for that. But still, you have to admit, you leaving me for that Angie girl was pretty stupid."

"Stupid?" Oscar asked. "What d'you mean?"

"Oh c'mon!" Lola scoffed. "You can't actually say that leaving me for her wasn't stupid! I mean, look at me! I'm pretty and rich! Everybody wants me! And now, look at her. She's just a plain Jane and she's poor! Nobody wants her!"

"That's not true!" Oscar said. "I wanted her!"

"_Wanted?_" Lola said. "What happened to 'I _want _her?'"

Oscar's eyes went down. "She hates me now." He said.

"Mmm, hmm." Lola said, sitting on Oscar's bed. "She hates you. Well you know what? _I_ don't hate you. So, you wanna get back together?"

Oscar looked up at Lola. Surprisingly, her beauty had no effect on him. "No." He said. "Now get out."

Lola frowned. "You're gonna regret this, Oscar." She said. She got off Oscar's bed and swam out the door and slammed it.

Oscar watched as Lola swam out the door. He flinched slightly.

'_Well, at least I didn't get beat against a window.' _He thought. _'And yeah right! 'I'm gonna regret this.' What's she gonna do?'_

But deep down inside, Oscar knew that Lola might mean what she said. The last time he had made her mad, she had Angie kidnapped and taken to the sharks! But, dismissing the thought, he took a long nap and told himself not to worry. Lola wouldn't live up to her threat… would she?

_Scene Change_

"What did I tell you about that shouting?" Dr. Monty scolded. "And yes, they're going to be twins."

"Great!" Lenny said. "Now what am I supposed to do? I can't take care of no pup!"

"Well, you can listen to what I'm about to say, though you might be mad at me." Dr. Monty suggested.

"What?" Lenny said sarcastically. "Are you gonna say that they might be two sets of twins?"

"No, though they might be." Dr. Monty said. "But that's not what I was going to say. What I was going to say was this…"

Dr. Monty went over to Lenny, as if he was going to whisper in his ear. But, he didn't whisper. Instead, he shouted,

"YOU JUST GOT PUNK'D!"

Lenny stared in shock. After his brain was able to work, he realized what had just happened. "What?" He said angrily.

"I said, YOU JUST GOT PUNK'D!" Dr. Monty said. "Please don't be mad."

After hearing that, Lenny's face softened. "I guess I can forgive you, after all, I'm on punk'd! So," He paused, looking around. "Where's Ashton Kutcher?"

"Uhh… Ashton Kutcher isn't here." Dr. Monty said.

"Oh, okay." Lenny said. "So where are the cameras?"

"There are no cameras." Dr. Monty said nervously. "This isn't on TV."

"So you mean… you tricked me, and this isn't a TV show?" Lenny asked angrily.

Dr. Monty nodded his head. Trying to hide from the glares he was getting from Lenny, he said quickly, "Hey, you can go in and see Ronnie now! The door's open!" Then he swam off.

"Thanks a lot." Lenny mumbled, opening the door to Ronnie's room.

Ronnie was sitting up in her bed, watching TV and eating jello. She noticed Lenny when he came into the room.

"Hi Lenny!" She said cheerfully. "Nice to see ya!"

"It's great to see you too." Lenny said. "But why are you so happy?"

"The doctor was able to stitch up my wound, and said that I would be able to go home on my birthday!" Ronnie said. "But, there is one downside."

"What?" Lenny asked.

"The hospital bill." Ronnie said. "They had to use special stitches for me, and they need two thousand clams. I don't have that much, Lenny!"

"But I do." Lenny said.

"Huh?" Ronnie said in a confused voice.

"You don't have two thousand clams, but I do." Lenny explains. "I can give you the two thousand clams so you can pay off your bill! And since you're a friend, you don't have to pay me back!"

"Wow. Thanks Lenny!" Ronnie said. "And I'll pay you back. One way or the other."

Lenny blushed and continued. "You're welcome. Besides, you won the money too."

"I guess so." Ronnie said.

"Hello?" A voice said from behind them.

The two turned to see Dr. Monty in the doorway. "I see that everything's all right."

"Yeah." Lenny said quickly.

"Why'd you say it like that Lenny?" Ronnie asked.

"Oh, he's probably mad because I played a trick on him." Dr. Monty said. "And while he's explaining what the trick was, I'll be checking up on other patients." Dr. Monty swam out the door as quickly as he had came in.

"So?" Ronnie asked. "What was the trick that he played on you?"

Lenny stuttered for a moment before saying, "Uh, what was that Dr. Monty? Yeah, I'll be there!" He began to swim out the door but he said, "Bye Ronnie!" before he left, leaving a very confused Ronnie to try and figure out what happened.

_Scene Change_

Dr. Monty swam into the waiting room where Ricky was floating.

"Hey doc! How's it goin'?" Ricky greeted.

"Fine." Dr. Monty said. "The patients are recovering, as well as Ronnie, and I'll be getting my paycheck soon."

"That's great." Ricky said. He looked around to see if anyone could hear him, and when he saw that no one was near, he added in a businesslike tone, "So… did you play that prank on Lenny?"

Dr. Monty laughed. "You bet I did! You should've seen Lenny's face when I told him Ronnie was pregnant! I thought he was gonna faint!"

"Probably thinking about what I was gonna do to him." Ricky chuckled. "Thanks for the help Dr. Monty."

"Aw, it was no problem." Dr. Monty said. "After all, it was the least I could do after you helped me sort out those papers. I guess I'll see you later." And with those words, Dr. Monty swam off to another patient's visitor.

At that same time, Lenny had swum out the door to where Ricky was. He was going to keep swimming by until Ricky said,

"So, I heard that Doc. Monty played a trick on you. Would you like to tell me what it was about?"

Lenny began to stutter and when he couldn't say anything, he swam off. Ricky was amused at his reaction and laughed quietly to himself.

'_That'll teach him to mess with my sister.'_

_Scene Change_

Rueben punched out his card. His work shift was over and he planned on going home and getting a good night's rest. He was leaving the wash when Ernie and Bernie came up and stopped him.

"Hey Rueben," Ernie said, "Did you hear about Osca'?"

Rueben's face fell into a frown. "Yeah, I did." He tried to keep swimming, but Bernie blocked the way.

"Well then, how come you won't visit him in the hospital?" Bernie said.

"Can I just go?" Rueben said, trying to find a way around the two brothers.

"Not until you give us an answer mon." Ernie said. "We've never known you to act like this."

"Yeah," Bernie said, "you and Osca' have been best friends since forever! So what's wrong now?"

"Nothing, okay!" Rueben shouted.

"Yeah right." Bernie said. "We know that something is wrong…"

"Fine! You wanna know what's wrong!" Rueben shouted. "I just found out that my best friend is a fake and has lied to me! There, you happy now? Leave me alone, okay?" Rueben swam off, leaving Ernie and Bernie to float with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Wow." Ernie said. "He's never blown up like that before."

"Yeah." Bernie said. He turned to Ernie. "Looks like Angie isn't the only one who has a problem with Osca'."

"Yeah… but what did he mean when he said that Osca' was a fake?" Ernie questioned.

"I don't know mon… but we're gonna find out, one way or the other." Bernie said determinedly.

_TBC…_

_Lola threatened Oscar? Lenny got punk'd? Ernie and Bernie want to know about what happened? Lino now knows about Lenny? Gasp! Will Lola live up to her threat? Will Angie move so that Oscar can never see her again? Will Ernie and Bernie find out about Oscar's lie? Will Lenny ever go home? Arrgh! Unanswered questions! There's only one way to find out, and that's to stick around for that next chappie!_

_R&R pleez!_


	14. NotSoHappy Birthday

_Author's Note: Guess who's back? Back again? I am back! Tell a friend! I am back with the next chappie of this story! Yay! (Face turns into a frown) Hey… where did all the reviewers go? Come back! I miss you! (Face turns back to normal) And now, some recognition!_

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Yes! I surprised you! (Does a dance) And maybe Lola will be making waves… and perhaps Oscar will see Lenny again… who knows?**

_Warning: You guys will really HATE me for this chappie. It's extremely dark. Please note that I was crying while I typed this chappie._

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Fourteen: Happy Birthday **

Ronnie swam through her front door, a smile on her face. The doctor had let her go home on her birthday. She was still tender and couldn't do a lot, but she would be okay if she took it easy. Of course, she couldn't have gotten out the hospital without paying her bill; that's why Lenny had given her three thousand clams to pay it off.

'_Good thing he gave me the three thousand clams… I sure didn't have any.' _Ronnie thought. _'And I forgot to repay him… oh well. I guess I'll have to get back to him later… what's this?'_

There was a letter on the table she was floating in front of. On the front, it had in black, bold letters: **From Lenny.**

'_I wonder what this is.' _Ronnie thought. Opening up the letter, she began to read.

_Happy Birthday Ronnie! You didn't think I'd forget, did you? Well, I got you a present… but I couldn't fit it in the letter. I'll give it to you later… even though it'll be your choice if you want it or not.  
Love,  
Lenny_

'_If I want it or not?' _Ronnie thought. _'What's that supposed to mean?'_

Before she could think more of it, she heard glass shatter. As she turned around, everything began to blur. All she could remember was a sharp pain in her head and an evil whisper saying;

"Did you miss me?"

_Scene Change_

Lenny was on his way back to Ronnie's ship, smiling widely. He had just cashed in his check for the million clams, and tomorrow, that ship he wanted would be his.

'_I can't wait to tell Ronnie about the ship… along with some… other things…'_

When Lenny thought that, his fin gripped the present he was holding. _'I can't believe I'm going to do this… God, I hope she likes this.'_

The present he had gotten for her was very special; it wasn't your ordinary birthday gift.

"Hey Lenny!"

Lenny turned around and saw Ricky swimming towards him. He seemed to have something in his fin.

"Hey Ricky."

"Hey, I've got somethin' to give to Ronnie, you know, for her birthday?" Ricky said. He handed Lenny the gift he had in his fin. "D'you think you could give this to her? I've gotta get home."

"You're leaving?" Lenny asked. Ricky nodded his head sadly. "Well, I'll be sure to give her this present…"

"And it looks like I'm not the only one giving Ronnie a present." Ricky said, crossing his fins. "What's in the present?"

"Oh, this?" Lenny said, blushing. "It's… a surprise."

"A surprise?" Ricky asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah." Lenny said. "Sorry, but I can't tell you. It's… special."

"Special, huh?" Ricky asked with a smile.

"Yeah! Really special!" Lenny said. "But hey! You'll find out what it is later on!"

"Uh huh." Ricky said. There was a short silence before Ricky said with a smile, "You love her, don't you?"

"What!" Lenny said, startled by the question. He began to stutter. "Uh, I, well, I mean, I-I, you see…" His stuttering ended with a blush.

"I see. So you do." Ricky said. "Go ahead and give her that present; I'm pretty sure it's important." As he swam off, he called over his shoulder, "And don't forget! Touch her…"

"And I'm dead!" Lenny finished for him. "I've got it!" _'But I don't think I'll listen.' _He added in his mind.

Ricky smiled for a second before swimming off. _'At least he's a good kid.' _He thought.

Lenny began to swam to Ronnie's ship again. Thoughts of doubt entered his mind. _'What if she doesn't like the present? What'll I do then?' _He was going to continue his negative thinking until he reached Ronnie's ship. The sight that he saw had shocked him. The window was shattered and glass was spread out all over the floor. As he swam through the broken window, the sight he saw scared him even more; Ronnie wasn't there.

"Ronnie?" Lenny said nervously. "Ronnie? Where are you!" He was about to swim to the hallway when he caught a glimpse of a note.

"What's this?" Lenny asked himself. He began to read and his eyes widened in horror.

_Hey there Lenny. Remember me? It's Markie, you know, the guy you tried to get rid of? Well guess what? I'm back, and I've got your girl. If you ever want to see her again, meet me at the outskirts of town. I'm sure you can remember where it is. And don't try anything. If you show up with somebody else, or try anything stupid, I WILL KILL HER. Be at the outskirts of town in five minutes, or I just might kill her anyway. You got all that? Good. Now hurry up._

Lenny's look turned from horror to third degree fear. He wouldn't kill her… would he? All he knew was that he had to get to the outskirts of town… or else. Rushing out the door, he didn't even notice that he had put Ricky's present down and kept the one he brought…

_Scene Change_

"It's been five minutes Ronnie."

"He's coming."

Markie held the struggling Ronnie in his fins. If she had her full strength, she probably could've wriggled away, but she had just gotten out of the hospital.

"Are you sure?" Markie said into her ear. "I think he's too much of a wimp…"

"Shut up!" Ronnie shouted angrily.

Ronnie's shout had earned her a hard slap across the face, leaving a blood red mark on her face.

"You don't tell me what to do!" Markie hissed at her.

"I'll tell you what to do if I want to." Ronnie spat. "You don't have control over me."

Ronnie's comment had earned her another slap. She had tears in her eyes, but she didn't cry out in pain. She wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

"I have control over you in this situation." Markie hissed evilly. "So, I would watch my mouth if I were you."

"How could you do something like this?" Ronnie growled. "It's my birthday!"

Markie shoved Ronnie onto the sea floor and grinned in satisfaction as he saw her hit her head on a rock. "Is that so?" He mocked. "Well happy birthday!" He threw sand at her. None of it got into her eyes, but it hurt when it came into contact with the red mark on her face.

"I don't know how you can live with yourself." Ronnie said.

"I don't either." Markie said with a smile.

"I hate you." Ronnie said, her eyes narrowed.

"Thanks." Markie said casually. He looked behind him and said, "Well, your little boyfriend isn't here, and since he isn't… how about we have some… fun?"

"Go choke on your food and die." Ronnie hissed. "I'd rather kill myself than do what you're thinking of."

"Well then, you don't have to worry about killing yourself, 'cause I'll do it for you!" Markie shouted. He punched Ronnie with more force than the slaps he gave her, sending her skidding through the sand.

"You're just a cowardly bastard!" Ronnie shouted angrily, quickly recovering from the punch. "The first time you tried to get me, you had to have an accomplice, because you knew that I could've hurt you! Then, you chickened out because your friend ran away! Now, you decide to kidnap me after I've just gotten out the hospital, and what's worse, it's my birthday! Why'd you try to hurt me in the first place! Why? I never did anything to you!"

"It's not you I want, it's your friend!" Markie hissed. "He's the one who humiliated me!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot!" Ronnie said. "He punched you out because you were acting stupid!"

"Well, he shouldn't have done that." Markie said.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Ronnie shouted. "If you want Lenny, then how come you're capturing me!"

"To use you as bait." Markie answered simply. "Besides, I want to have some fun with you too… oww!"

Ronnie had thrown a rock at his face, hitting him directly.

"Bite me." She hissed defiantly.

"Why you little…!" Markie said, grabbing her by the neck and pulling her to him. Just as he was about to strike…

"Leave her alone!"

Markie turned to see Lenny floating about five feet away from him and Ronnie.

"Ahhh, Lenny, I see that you've come." Markie said. "I said to meet me here in five minutes. It's been six."

"Who cares how long it's been?" Lenny growled. "Just leave her alone."

"Why?" Markie said with his evil smirk. "What would be the fun in that?"

"Look, just leave her alone!" Lenny said, beginning to swim towards Markie.

"Hold it!" Markie said. He pulled out a knife and held it to Ronnie's neck. "Take one more swim forward and I'll kill her."

Lenny stopped. His face took on a look of fear. "You wouldn't." He said in a whisper.

"I sure would." Markie said. "Now, back up a little."

Lenny looked at Markie with a look full of hatred, but he swam back a little.

"There's a good boy." Markie said in a mocking tone. "I knew you'd see things my way."

"Just let her go already." Lenny said in a scared tone.

"Why should I?" Markie said evilly. "You came late, and it said in the letter that you have to be here in five minutes or she'll die. So…" Markie slashed Ronnie's chest, creating a deep gash. Ronnie fell to the ground like a limp rag doll.

"Ronnie!" Lenny said in a panicked tone, rushing over to her.

"I don't think your girlfriend can hear you!" Markie taunted, laughing wickedly.

Lenny ignored Markie's comment; he had something more important to think of right now.

"Ronnie, c'mon!" Lenny said, shaking her. "Wake up! I know you can make it through this!"

Ronnie didn't say anything. She didn't even move. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't breathing. Lenny felt her fin; it was ice cold, and he couldn't sense a pulse.

'_No…'_

He shook her even harder and said, "Please, Ronnie, wake up! You can't leave like this, not on your birthday…" He stopped shaking her when he saw that there was no more hope. "Please… no…" He said in a desperate tone.

Ronnie was dead.

Lenny continued to stare at Ronnie as Markie was still laughing. Blood continued to flow from her gash, and she showed no sign of ever recovering. There was nothing he could do but stare as uncontrollable tears began to stream down his face. He had that feeling of vulnerability in him. Don't you just hate that feeling? That feeling you get like if you're a little kid and something bad is out of your control, and all you can do is sit back and watch as it happens, and all you can do is sit back helplessly and cry while thinking, _'If only.' _Tears continued to stream down Lenny's face like a river, mixing with the blood on the sand. Everything felt hopeless; Ronnie was dead and there was nothing he could do to bring her back. He couldn't have even stopped her death from happening! A loud clap of thunder could be hear, and rain began to fall, one drop at a time. Coming back to reality, Lenny got up and faced Markie.

"You killed her." He said in a tiny voice.

Markie grinned and sneered, "Well, it looks like mafia boy over here is broken without his girl."

Markie had said the wrong thing. The next thing he knew, he was knocked backwards because a heavy punch had broke his nose.

**WARNING! IT BECOMES REALLY DARK AND VIOLENT AFTER THIS POINT!**

"You bastard! How could you kill her! It was her _birthday_!" Lenny shouted angrily.

Markie reached for his knife, but Lenny had taken it from and thrown it behind him. When he did that, Markie began to get scared. There was a dangerous look in Lenny's eyes, the type of look Markie had never seen before, but somehow knew all too well.

"Look man!" Markie said in fear. "I didn't mean to… please don't hurt me! I'm sorry...!"

"Aww, what's the matter?" Lenny mocked. "Are you afraid because you no longer have your knife to help you out of things?" He punched Markie in the mouth, knocking out some of his teeth and sending him reeling backwards.

Markie wiped the blood from his mouth and looked up into Lenny's eyes. There was a fire in them, but there was no emotion in them at all; except for a burning fury. There was also another look in his eyes; the bloodthirsty look that made Markie cower even more. Markie began to realize that he was in trouble; SERIOUS trouble. He never should've done what he did. Lenny wasn't going to just beat him up and turn him in to the cops; he was out for his blood.

"Look!" Markie pleaded, stumbling over his words. "I'm sorry! I never should've killed her! I didn't know she meant that much to you…"

Markie's sentence was cut off when Lenny bit him and ripped off a chunk of his skin. Blood trickled into Lenny's mouth.

_The taste of blood_…

Lenny had always hated the flavor; it made him sick, but now… now he was trying to see if he could get more of it.

"Yeah, right! You knew how much she meant to me!" Lenny hissed coldly. "That's why you killed her… and that's why I'll kill you."

Lenny ripped off more of Markie's skin, causing more blood to flow into his mouth, and Markie to growl in pain. Markie had fallen to the ground and was struggling to get up, blood flowing from his wounds. Lenny watched as Markie struggled to get up, enjoying it a little.

'_I wanna see him bleed…'_

"You can't do this… the cops… are gonna get you for this." Markie panted out.

"You think I care?" Lenny said, the bloodthirsty look in his eyes as he kicked Markie across the sand.

He expected to see Markie move slightly and try to hold onto his life, but Markie didn't move at all. Lenny decided to investigate and swam over to Markie. Markie's eyes were glazed over and he had a look of surprise on his face. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, and wasn't breathing or showing any sign of life at all. He was dead. Lenny had killed him.

'_That's what he gets.' _Lenny thought, staring at Markie with satisfaction. _'He never should've messed with me.'_

A police siren was heard from far away.

"Attention murderer! We have caught you red handed! Put your fins in the air and stay where you are!"

Lenny snapped back to reality. He stared at Markie in shock. A shockwave of panic went through him.

'_I didn't do that… did I?' _

Looking down at his fins, he saw them covered in blood. His panic increased when he had realized what he did. The fact that the police were going to get him didn't help matters either. Lenny looked around, breathing heavily. He had to get out of there. He didn't care where; as long as it was far away from this city. He began to swim away; until he noticed the present he had brought for Ronnie lying in the sand. It was undamaged and as clean and sparkly as ever. He swam over to it and picked it up. He glanced over at Ronnie and looked back over to the present. He wasn't going to leave it behind, and he wasn't going to sell it either. He wasn't even going to unwrap it. Glancing back at the city with tears in his eyes, Lenny fled the scene.

_Scene Change_

The rain had really begun to fall. Lenny was far, far away from the city, looking for a new home. Sadness and loneliness filled his heart, and his eyes were filled with tears.

**I walk a lonely road**

**The only one that I have ever know**

He had no sense of where he was going; all he knew was that he could never go back to that city.

**Don't know where it goes**

**But its home and**

**I walk alone**

There was nobody around to make him feel better, there was nobody there to tell him that everything would be all right.

**I walk this empty street on the Blvd.**

**Of broken dreams. Where the city sleeps**

**And I'm the only one and I walk alone**

'_I can't believe I did that.' _Lenny thought miserably. _'I didn't mean to kill him! It's just… I don't know! I felt the need for blood… I've never felt that way before. I've never killed anyone or even thought about it. Now… I'm a murderer.'_

**My shadow's the only one that walks beside me**

**My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating**

**Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me**

'**Till then I'll walk alone**

'_I can never go back there, and I can never go back to Reef City. If I go back to Reef City, I'll get ratted out by everyone and my dad will notice me, and if I go back to that other city…' _Lenny didn't continue that thought. _'It's too late for me now. If I go back there, I'll be labeled as a murderer… because I AM a murderer.'_

**I'm walking down the line**

**That divided me somewhere in my mind**

**On the border line of the edge **

**And where I walk alone**

'_And Ronnie…' _Lenny felt a sharp pain in his heart as he thought about her. _'She'll never come back. Let's face it! She's the reason I never went bloodthirsty and killed Markie earlier! And I'll never be able to give her the present… the only thing she got was death. And Ricky… how will he handle things when he finds that his sister had died. As for Jamel and Andre… they'll be shocked to find out that I'm a killer. I'm turning into the thing I hate the most… so why do I like it?'_

**Read between the lines of what's**

**Fked up and everything's all right**

**Checked my vital signs to know I'm still alive**

**And I walk alone**

Lenny's fin tightened its grip on the present. He stared at the present for a long time. He couldn't tell whether it was rain, tears, or both as he whispered,

"I'll never sell you. Not for money, not for clothes, not for anything."

**I walk alone, I walk alone**

**I walk alone, I walk a…**

**My shadow's the only thing that walks beside me**

**My shallow heart's only thing that's beating**

**Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me**

**Till then I'll walk alone…**

**(Blvd. Of Broken Dreams by Green Day)**

Lenny stared ahead into the emptiness ahead of him. He'd make it all right. After all, he had survived this far. Looking at the present, (the only thing that seemed to give him hope) he swam off.

_TBC…_

_Lenny has killed Markie… now he's running away from the city… and Ronnie is dead… and what's in the package? Stay tuned for the next chappie. _


	15. A Surprising Fate

_Author's Note: Readers… wake up… the Shark Tale matrix has you… (Snaps back to reality) Sorry 'bout that. Anyway… I'm back with another chappie! All right, so in the last chappie, Markie killed Ronnie, Lenny killed Markie, and now Lenny's on the run from the police. What happens now? _

_Yay! The reviewers came back! And I got a new reviewer! Woo hoo!_

**Insane Pirate Dragon- I'm a dark eleven year old. Fear my darkness. Mwahaha. But, you shouldn't really be calling me dark just now. Trust me, you haven't seen dark yet. Wow, anime style crying with the full waterworks. (Hands Insane Pirate Dragon a hankie.) Here's a hankie… but don't use it all up just now… there are more dark moments… Yup, I had to go all tragic on ya'll. And you must really know my style… but if you have a feeling on what's gonna happen, Shhh! don't spoil the stuff:)**

**MononokeShojo- Yay, new reviewer! Yup, Ronnie is dead. Poor Lenny. Maybe he and Oscar will be friends again… and maybe they will be the worst of enemies… Thanx for liking my story!**

**The Crouching Tiger Shark- Darkness and creepiness… Lenny really HAS gone bad. Stay on the positive, optimistic side… 'cause you won't be finding out what his gift is anytime soon. He's right back where he started, only this time, it'll be harder for him to find a safe place because he's a runaway criminal. Thanx for the tip about Jennifer Lopez. And I shall keep on writin'! Yay, I'm still loved!**

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Surprise! I went that far! And c'mon, it's not THAT dark… is it? Ronnie is now sleepin' with the fishes… the dead ones. And poor Lenny made sure that Markie is sleepin' with the fishes. Markie finally got what he deserved. Keep on hoping for that happy chappie. It'll come… eventually.**

_On a personal note, I went to a football game and my team won!_

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Fifteen: Two weeks later**

It was Wednesday. The sky was partly cloudy, and thing were going on as usual in Reef City. Everything seemed all right; every fish was going through life as usual, without the slightest suspicion that something bad was going to happen. Unfortunately, something bad was going to happen. You see, Oscar had gotten out of the hospital? That doesn't sound bad, now does it? Well, the bad part is, he had gotten out of the hospital in two weeks; the day Angie was going to move. He had found out that Angie had rescheduled her moving time from Ernie and Bernie, who had just recently visited him.

The moving people were arriving at Angie's apartment in approximately two hours, and there was no rescheduling this time. Nothing was going to change Angie's mind. It was too late for Oscar to make an apology; too late for him to make up any excuses. Angie was moving; he'd never see her again. But the worst part was, Oscar knew why she was leaving; and knew that it was his fault she was moving in the first place.

'_Why me?' _Oscar thought. _'If I had only admitted everything, none of this would've happened in the first place!'_

Oscar swam inside his penthouse. He wasn't going to stop by Angie's apartment to see her go; it would be too sad. Besides, she wouldn't want to see him anyway. Rueben would be going to see her move; another reason why Oscar couldn't go down there. He would have to feel the sting of Rueben's glares burning holes through his back.

Turning on his TV, Oscar flipped to Sea9 news. There was nothing else on. He expected to see the usual Sea9 news; the gossip on celebrities, the reports on traffic, the best restaurants to take your date. But, little did he know, that listening to the news would give him a report that would change his life; a change that wouldn't go so well with him.

"We have an important news broadcast with us today!" Katie Current was saying, a hint of fear in her voice. "Part of a ship has been ripped open, and large amounts of gasoline have been poured over some apartments!"

'_So what?' _Oscar thought, drinking his soda. _'Just get something to clean it up.'_

"And somehow, a flame has caught onto the gasoline, creating a huge fireball on the apartment!" Katie said.

Oscar spit out his soda. _'WHAT?'_

"For the rest of the broadcast, we go to Brent Abyssal." Katie said. "Brent?"

The screen switched over to a trout holding a microphone.

"Thanks Katie." Brent said. "About a few seconds ago, gasoline has poured over an apartment. Now, as we all know, gasoline is very dangerous when it comes into contact with fire. Police and detectives still haven't found where the fire came from, but they're working on it as we speak."

'_Aw man, I hope that everyone's okay.' _Oscar thought, eyes glued to the screen.

"All right, so where did the fire take place, and is everyone okay?" Katie asked.

"Well, at the time of the fire, it seems like everyone was out of the apartment." Brent said. "But the local rescue team is still checking. As for which apartment the fire burned down, it's called 'Seashell apartments.'

Panic gripped Oscar's throat. _'Seashell apartments? That's where Angie lives!'_

Turning off the TV, Oscar rushed out his penthouse, heading for Seashell apartments.

_Scene Change_

Two weeks. Lenny had been swimming away from the city for two weeks. That meant he had two weeks of no food, no drinks, and no shelter. The only thing he had with him was the present he had brought for Ronnie and seven thousand dollars (which was in the present.) He couldn't use the seven thousand dollars though; he had made a promise that he'd never open the gift. Tired and hungry, Lenny continued to swim in search of a place to stay. There had been no sign of a city or town in the last few miles he had traveled, and it didn't seem like there would be. But, luckily for Lenny, he spotted a patch of seaweed. Though the big softie had a taste for blood now, he still ate veggies. Grabbing up a big clump of seaweed, he began to munch on it. It was saltier than any veggie he had ever tasted, but hey, it had been two weeks since his last meal. He certainly wasn't going to complain.

After eating the seaweed, Lenny studied the horizon. Still no sign of a place to stay or anybody who could help him. The sun was going to go down soon; that meant another night alone. Lenny had hated it when nighttime came. He had no place to stay, and nobody who was traveling with him. His case would've been better if he had been in a city and sleeping on the streets, but he wasn't. He had to sleep in the middle of nowhere on the sand.

'_At least I have a choice of bedding now.' _Lenny thought bitterly. _'Rocks, sand, or a patch of kelp.'_

"Hi there."

Startled, Lenny turned around to see a sharkess with midnight blue eyes.

"Don't be startled." The sharkess said. "I'm just here to help."

"Help?" Lenny asked. "Help me how?"

"I don't know." The sharkess said, swimming closer to Lenny. "I just know that I've gotta help you." She was now in Lenny's face.

"Uh, you're kind of close here…" Lenny said nervously.

"This isn't close," The sharkess said in her sensual voice, "But this is."

Before Lenny could say anything, the sharkess had kissed him, leaving a shocked expression on his face. Suddenly, his vision became blurry.

"Sweet dreams." He heard the sharkess say.

A few seconds later, he blacked out.

_Scene Change_

Oscar had arrived at Seashell apartments. There was a huge crowd outside, including hospitals for those who were caught in the blast. Brent Abyssal was still reporting on the fire, interviewing a detective that was trying to find out where the flame came from. But, Oscar didn't care about Brent and the detective right now. He was trying to find out if Angie was okay. He searched the scene for signs of the Angelfish, but found nothing. After examining the scene more closely, he decided that it didn't matter if he saw her or not. He just wanted to know if she was okay. He spotted Officer O'Hara and decided to ask him.

"Officer O'Hara!" Oscar called out.

Officer O'Hara turned around and swam over to Oscar. "'Ey, top 'o the mornin' Oscar!"

"'Sup officer." Oscar said. "Listen, would you happen to know if Angie is okay?"

"Of course I know if Angie is okay." Officer O'Hara said. "She lost everything though. Heard she was about to move, and the moving company canceled it."

"Yeah." Oscar said. "So, would you happen to know where she is?"

"Aye, that I do." Officer O'Hara said. "Last I saw of her, she was in an alley. She seemed sad. She has a right to be; she lost everything. I feel sorry for the lass."

"I do too." Oscar sighed. "Well, thanks for the tip officer."

"No problem, Oscar." Officer O'Hara replied. He heard his name coming from Brent. "Looks like I ought to be going then."

Oscar watched as Officer O'Hara swam over to talk about the fire.

'_If I had confessed earlier, none of this would've happened.' _Oscar thought sullenly.

With one final glance at the scene, Oscar swam off to find Angie.

_Scene Change_

Oscar had looked in every alley he could. He checked every nook and every cranny; but there was still no sign of Angie! Just as he had given up hope, he heard two familiar voices coming from an alley that he hadn't checked. Those voices belonged to Rueben and Oscar. Sneaking over to the alley, Oscar hid behind the wall and listened in to the conversation.

"I've lost everything Rueben." Angie said tearfully. "My home, my job, the little bit of money I had left. The only thing that wasn't burned was my grandmother's pearl."

"How's that?" Rueben said.

"Because it's in a fireproof case." Angie said. She smiled slightly and looked up at the sky. "Always count on my grandma to make sure that things don't get destroyed easily."

"She sounds smart." Rueben said.

"What am I supposed to do now Rueben?" Angie said tearfully. "I don't have any money, and I don't have a place to live. I can't live on the streets."

"You could sell your grandma's pearl." Rueben suggested.

"What? I can't sell my grandmother's pearl! It's supposed to be passed down from generation to generation!" Angie said.

"Sorry, stupid idea." Rueben said.

Angie sighed. "Not like it would matter if I sold it. I sure can't do anything with it now. Everything's hopeless."

"Don't say that!" Rueben said, sitting down next to Angie. "You'll make it through this! You've been getting along fine through all these years and you'll get along fine now."

Angie smiled. "Thanks Rube."

"Don't mention it, it's what I do." Rueben replied.

"But still, where am I supposed to get money for an apartment?" Angie asked.

Rueben thought for a while. Finally, he said, "You could get your old job back at the Wash. Sure; it would take a while until you've saved enough to get everything you need, but you'll get there. Besides," Rueben smiled, "Ernie and Bernie are messing up the phone call thing. We need you back."

Angie laughed. "Well, since you put it that way, I think I will go back."

"All right!" Rueben said cheerfully. "It's about time! Everybody at the wash missed you; you don't know how happy they'll be to see you back!"

"So, where am I supposed to live until then?" Angie asked.

After Angie said that, Crazy Joe popped out of a nearby dumpster.

"You could live with me!" He said sincerely.

"Uhh… no thanks Crazy Joe." Angie said.

"Oh." Crazy Joe said. "Well, you wanna see my puppets?"

"No." Angie said. "Thanks for asking though."

"All right, suit yourself… ooh! My show is on!" Crazy Joe popped into his shell, disappearing into the dumpster.

"Imagine living with Crazy Joe…" Angie said, shaking her head.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Rueben's head. "Hey," he said, "You can live with me!"

Angie's eyes widened. "Oh no, I couldn't, I mean… you barely have enough to afford your groceries and rent! And your bills… it's a wonder how you're able to pay them off."

"I guess I'll just have to cut back on some things then." Rueben said.

"Oh, no you aren't!" Angie said. "You can barely take care of yourself!"

"I guess you're right." Rueben sighed. Suddenly, another idea popped into his head. "I know! You could stay with Ernie and Bernie!"

"Ernie and Bernie?" Angie said incredulously.

"Yeah!" Rueben said. "I mean, they do owe you after all those times you saved their stingers, plus, you know them! And, they're middle class, so you won't have to worry about money shortages!"

"That's… a great idea Rueben!" Angie said, beginning to cheer up. "I think it can work!"

"Great! Then it's settled." Rueben said. "We'll ask them tomorrow when you try to get your job back. But in the meantime, you'll be spending the night with me."

"Thanks Rueben." Angie said. "I owe you BIG time."

"Do you think you can get me a raise?" Rueben asked hopefully.

"Sorry, can't do that." Angie said with a smile.

"Oh. Well then, I guess I have to keep thinking." Rueben said. "Now c'mon. I'm having breakfast for dinner."

Following Rueben, Angie got ready for tomorrow. As Angie and Rueben passed by Oscar, Oscar hid behind a mailbox. As happy as he was that Angie was going to get a place to stay, he was still sad that it was his fault that Angie was going through this in the first place. Looking back at the alley, Oscar swam home.

_Scene Change_

'_Ugh… where am I?' _

Lenny's vision was slowly coming back. His hearing was working well though.

"Hey boss, he's wakin' up!"

Lenny's vision had fully returned, and he jumped back when he saw something pointy in his face. It turned out to be a swordfish's nose!

"Hey look, the Great White's afraid of a swordfish!" The first swordfish said, chuckling.

The other swordfish slapped his friend and said, "Quiet you."

Lenny was confused. All he did was stare at the two swordfish in front of him. Suddenly, a Tiger shark came into his view.

"Ah, I see that you're awake." The Tiger Shark said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Lamont; your new boss."

"Boss?" Lenny said. "You're not my boss. And I'm not gonna work for you."

"You have no choice." Lamont said. "If you choose not to work for me, my boys over here will make sure you don't work for anyone else." He pointed to the two swordfish. "And plus, you have to pay me back. If it wasn't for my daughter, you might still be wandering around. So, are you going to work for me, or should my boys take care of you?"

Lenny stared at the swordfish for a while. They were very intimidating. Finally, he sighed in defeat.

"All right." Lenny said. "I'll work for you."

"You made the right choice." Lamont said. "Welcome to the business. Now, take this bandanna and tie it around your neck."

Taking the blue bandanna from Lamont, Lenny tied it around his neck.  
It was either do as he says or get taken out by the swordfish guys over there.

"Good." Lamont said. "Now, C.J. will be your roommate. He'll show you to your new apartment." He turned to one of the swordfish. "Ace, call C.J."

"You got it boss." Ace said. "C.J.! Get your tail fin out here!"

A Great White shark came into the door. He had violet eyes and a white bandanna around his neck.

"C.J., this is Lenny. He'll be staying with you." Lamont said.

"C'mon." C.J. said, gesturing to Lenny.

Lenny followed after C.J., but stopped. He turned around to Lamont. "Hey, how'd you know my name? I didn't tell you."

"That's not important right now." Lamont said. "What's important is that you follow C.J. And here." Lamont tossed the present Lenny had to Lenny. "This belongs to you. Now go."

Lenny dashed out the door. C.J. closed the door behind him and went to make sure Lenny didn't get himself into any trouble.

_Scene Change_

Lenny and C.J. had arrived at the apartment. It was like the ones at Reef City, only much bigger and less colorful.

"All right." C.J. said. "Now that we're here, I've got some rules to go over. No touching my stuff, and no annoying me. Follow those rules, and we'll get along just fine. Got it?"

"Yeah, I've got it." Lenny said.

"Also, since you're new to the job, I've got some rules to go over about the business. I could say all of them, but I'll just say the main ones. No squealing, and whatever the boss tells you to do, you do it."

"Okay, I understand that, but… what's the business?" Lenny asked.

"What you're in is a business of hit men." C.J. explained.

"What!" Lenny shouted. "I can't be in a business of hit men! I'm not a killer!"

"Not a killer, huh?" C.J. said. "Well tell me how come it says in newspapers 'round these parts, that you killed Markie Loreto?"

Lenny did a double take and stared at C.J., a question written all over his face. "How do you know about that?"

"Everybody knows." C.J. said, turning on the TV. "Well, okay, so the cops and other authorities don't know, but everybody around here can guess that you did. In the newspaper, it says that Markie was killed, and the last person around him was a sharkess named Ronnie and a shark named Lenny. Since it said that Markie had killed Ronnie, you were the only one left, so you had to have killed him."

Lenny stared at C.J. in shock. "Are you sure that no authorities know?"

"Of course I'm sure." C.J. said. "So, what's in the present?"

Lenny stared at the present. "I don't really want to say."

"Oh, so you're the secretive type, huh? All right." C.J. said. "Could ya at least tell me who it was for?"

"It was for Ronnie." Lenny answered. "It was her birthday."

C.J.'s eyes widened. "So you mean, when that Markie fellow killed him, it was her…" He trailed off as Lenny nodded his head.

"Damn. Now that ain't right." C.J. commented.

"Yeah, it's not right. But who cares about that right now?" Lenny said. "I've gotta get outta here!"

"If you leave, Lamont and his boys will hunt you down." C.J. said. "Once you're in the business, you can't get out."

"So basically, I'm stuck here?" Lenny asked.

"Yup." C.J. said. "So, how'd you get here anyway?"

"I was swimming away from the city, when I met this sharkess, and she kissed me, and the next thing I knew, I was blacking out." Lenny answered.

"The sharkess kissed you and you blacked out, huh?" C.J. asked. "That must've been Carlotta."

"Carlotta?" Lenny questioned. "Who's she? And why did I black out like that?"

"You see, she's Lamont's daughter." C.J. explained. "And you blacked out because when she kissed you, she had poison on her lips. Usually, she puts on the poison that causes death, but this time, she put on the type that makes you black out. And just in case you wanna know why she puts poison on her lips, her father sends her out on missions too. She usually gets a job involving men. It goes like this; the shark sees Carlotta, wants to date her, takes Carlotta back to his apartment, Carlotta kisses him with her 'kiss of death', the shark dies, Carlotta takes his money. Another shark down."

"Wow." Lenny said. "I guess I'll turn in for the night."

Lenny swam into his new room. He couldn't believe what he had gotten into. He had murdered a guy, and in an attempt to swim away from that, he had become a hit man!

'_What am I gonna do now?' _Lenny thought. _'I'm not a killer!'_

'_You are now.' _A voice in his head said. _'And you can't take it back.'_

Lenny sighed. That voice in his head was right. He couldn't go back to the city because the cops might notice him, and he definitely couldn't go back in time and reverse what he did. Turning off the lamp beside him, Lenny dozed off.

_TBC…_

_Angie's apartment is gone? Oscar still hasn't confessed? Ernie and Bernie might have a roommate? Lenny has become a hit man? What'll happen to Lenny? Why's Carlotta important in this story? Is Lola gonna come back into this story? Will Oscar ever see Lenny again? Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie!_

_R&R pleez. New characters' profiles will be appearing soon in my profile. And uh… for all those who choose to review… could I get some suggestions? For the past two chappies, I've been clueless on what to write about and just typed as I went along. Ideas for the next chappie will be really appreciated!_


	16. Jobs

_Author's Notes: I'm back! And I've gotten a new chappie! Before I get to the recognition, I just have to say something… (Tears come into author's eyes) I've gotten two comments that this is one of the best stories that someone has ever read… and I've gotten a new reviewer… (Cries waterfall style) You guys must really like me! (Sniffle)_

**Z Star The Hidden Dragon- Yay! New reviewer! Thanx for the comment! I feel sorry for Lenny and Oscar too. Yup, this story is sad and dark, but it has its heartwarming moments.:) **

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Yup, hit sharks. As for his first job involving Len's pop or Oscar… you guys seem to like that idea… I hope you're getting along well with your story too:)**

**The Crouching Tiger Shark- You think Lenny looks cute with his blue bandanna on? Hmm… (Writes this down in a notebook) Lenny's darker side is slowly giving in… and we all know what this means. Yup, Angie's going to be living with Ernie and Bernie. It sure will be interesting… mwahah. Thanx for the idea! Now I have something else to put in… and a title for this chappie. It sure is a twist… (Backs away from Crouching Tiger Shark) Your evil laugh scares me… and I hope you're getting along with your story too:)**

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Things sure are getting crazy! And with crazy things comes dark things. Thanx for the suggestion. You guys seem to like that idea. It would be a cool way for Oscar and Lenny to run into each other… not a good way, but a cool way… :)**

**MononokeShojo- I hope Lenny will be okay too. Thanx for the comment… and the kiss up… :)**

_In this chappie, things start to heat up… and today I got to touch a shark! But I know you're tired of my blabbing. So…  
On wit da story!_

**Chapter Sixteen: Romantic Tension? **

Angie had plopped herself on Rueben's couch. She was staying the night with him, due to the fact that her apartment had burned down.

"I've got the spaghetti!" Rueben said.

Angie watched as Rueben came out the kitchen carrying two plates of spaghetti. It smelled good, looked good, and it probably tasted good. It just came out of the oven, so Angie could see the steam carrying the aroma to her nose. Rueben handed her a plate, and sat down next to her on the couch. The news was on, and Katie Current was still talking about the fire that happened earlier on today. Angie just sat in silence and watched as the camera showed what was left of her apartment. Noticing the sad look in her eyes, Rueben said,

"Ugh. I thought she would've moved on to gossip by now."

Angie looked at Rueben and smiled. "Yeah." After pausing for a moment, Angie added, "Thanks."

"Thanks?" Rueben said with a puzzled look on his face. "Thanks for what?"

"For everything." Angie replied. "Thanks for taking me in. I mean, you didn't have to let me stay here tonight, but you did anyway."

"No prob, that's what friends do." Rueben said.

After looking up for a moment, Angie added with a smile, "Oh, and thanks for the spaghetti too."

Rueben laughed and said, "Once again, no prob."

Angie smiled for a second before saying, "Rueben? We're friends, right?"

"Right." Rueben replied.

"And friends give each other stuff, right?"

"Right…" Rueben replied, wondering where Angie was going with this.

"So, uh… do you think you could give me that last sprite remix in the fridge?" Angie asked hopefully.

"No." Rueben said. "Sorry Ang, you're my friend and all, but that sprite remix is mine. And just to prove my point…"

Rueben swam into the kitchen and Angie saw him open the refrigerator. Putting her now empty plate on the floor, it floated up. (It was a paper plate, the only type of plate Rueben could afford.) In less than a moment, Rueben came back holding a sprite remix bottle with his name on it.

"You see, this has my name on it." Rueben said. "And just to make sure you see it…"

Rueben began to swim over to Angie, while she rolled her eyes.

'_He's so childish… wait… he can trip over that plate!' _Angie thought. Sure enough, since it was floating, Rueben could trip over the plate.

"Rueben, watch out!"

But it was too late. Rueben had tripped over the plate, landing on Angie. Luckily, the sprite remix wasn't opened. Otherwise, that would've added to the situation they were in…

"Whoops!" Rueben said, blushing. "Sorry Ang."

"It's all right…" Angie said, blushing. She looked up at Rueben, who didn't move.

Rueben gently stroked her face, causing Angie to blush even more. Their eyes closed, and began to lean in towards each other…

**SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! COME AND GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!**

Rueben fell off the couch (And Angie) and landed on the floor, searching for the remote. Rueben or Angie's fin had hit the up volume button on the remote, and somehow turned the channel from the news to a monster truck show. Rueben had found the remote, and fumbled around for the right button. He had finally been able to turn down to volume, and turned off the TV.

'_Stupid TV… ruined the moment…' _Rueben thought. He turned around and saw Angie sitting on the couch, a surprised expression on her face. Rueben mentally smacked his head. _'Oh snap! I forgot that she kind of liked Oscar! But then again, she doesn't like him anymore… but I've been her friend for a long time…' _"Angie? Look, I'm sorry…"

"I think I'll turn in for the night. Thanks for the dinner." Angie said hurriedly, swimming into the guest bedroom.

Rueben noticed the way Angie wanted to swim away so quickly, and his eyes dropped. He had sort of liked Angie as more than a friend, but didn't let it get in the way of Angie's feelings for Oscar… and he certainly didn't tell her that he liked her…

'_Aww man. What'd I get myself into now…?'_

_Scene Change_

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

An alarm clock went off, causing Lenny to groan. He rolled over and hit the alarm clock, making the alarm go off.

'_Stupid alarm clock.' _Lenny thought angrily. _'Who set it anyway?'_

His question was answered by a note that seemed to just appear on the nightstand next to him. It was folded in half and on the front it had the words, _'C.J.'_

Unfolding the note, Lenny began to read.

_Hey Lenny,  
I'm not here because I have to run this errand for Lamont. I'll probably be back in a couple of minutes, if the guy I'm after cooperates… they never do. Oh yeah, you don't want to leave the apartment. Lamont has his guys out looking for anyone who might want to leave, meaning you. Catch ya later._

Lenny balled up the note and threw it on the floor. _'Great!' _He thought. _'I can't get out of being a hit shark, and I can't get out of this apartment! This sucks!'_

"You don't look so happy."

Startled, Lenny jumped up slightly at the voice behind him.

"Relax, it's only me."

Lenny turned around and saw Carlotta floating in the room.

"How'd you know where I am?" Lenny questioned.

"My dad's the hit man boss. I know where everyone lives." Carlotta replied plainly.

"Oh, okay." Lenny said tensely. For some reason, Carlotta's presence was making him nervous. It was like something bad was going to happen…

"What's wrong?" Carlotta said, swimming very close to Lenny. "You look so tense. I don't know why you feel that way… it's only me."

"Uh… don't you think you're a little close here…?" Lenny began, but stopped midway. "_Oh_."

Carlotta was giving Lenny a massage. (Like the one Lola was giving Oscar in that scene at the penthouse.)

"C'mon, why're you so stressed?" Carlotta said. "You can tell me."

"Well, you know, I've never been a hit shark before…" Lenny began, but stopped. "Wait a minute… stop this!"

Lenny got out of Carlotta's massage, causing her to put on an angry look. Her angry look disappeared, however, when she thought of a scheme, and put her face in a fake sad face.

"What'd you do that for?" Carlotta said in a fake sad tone. "Don't you like me?" She turned her back and began to cry fake tears. Unfortunately, Lenny didn't notice this, and tried to make her stop crying.

"Aww, don't cry." Lenny said. "Of course I like you."

"You're just saying that." Carlotta said.

"No I'm not!" Lenny said. "I mean it! But then again… look, you're pretty and all but…"

"Oh! You called me pretty!" Carlotta said. It was only a few seconds later when she began to kiss him.

"Hey, what… mmmph!" Lenny's sounds of protest were silenced by the kiss. He pushed Carlotta off him, making her look very angry. "Stop that!"

"What'd you do that for?" Carlotta said angrily.

"What do you think I did that for, you crazy sharkess!" Lenny said.

"Crazy?" Carlotta said hotly. "You can't call me crazy! Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, but I don't care!" Lenny said. "Don't do that! We're only… well, I can't say friends, but we only know each other because your pops is the boss! If it hadn't been for that reason, I would've acted like I don't know you."

Carlotta's eyes narrowed. "You're gonna regret that comment."

Lenny scoffed. "Yeah right."

At that same moment, C.J. had just opened the door. He stared at Lenny and then looked at Carlotta. "Uh… am I interrupting something?"

Carlotta looked at C.J. and her angry face disappeared. Her expression took on an angelic look. "Of course not C.J." She said in a sugary sweet voice. "I was just talking to Lenny, you know, asking him how he was enjoying his stay. I was just about to go… bye fellas'." Carlotta swam out the door without another comment.

C.J. looked at Lenny. "She's quite the… _angelic _sharkess, huh?"

"Yeah right." Lenny said. "She's evil!"

"Hmm…" C.J. said, imitating one of those annoying shrinks, "I see that you have seen Carlotta's real personality. So, how does that make you feel?"

"Shut up." Lenny said, throwing a pillow at C.J.. (Who of course caught the pillow. Hit sharks have excellent reflexes.)

"Sorry, I had to say it." C.J. said, laughing. His face then took on a more serious expression. "But really, I wouldn't get on her bad side. Her dad's the boss, and anything she says about you is bad, especially considering how Lamont believes everything his 'little angel' says, including the lies."

"Thanks for the tip." Lenny said. _'I think I've already gotten on her bad side though…'_

"No prob." C.J. said. "Oh yeah, Lamont wants you to stop by his office at nine. He has a job he wants to assign you."

"What's the job?" Lenny asked apprehensively. He didn't really want to kill someone.

"He didn't say." C.J. said. "And I didn't think it was my place to ask. Let me just tell you this much: you don't want to be late. It'll leave a bad impression, not to mention a couple of bruises on your face."

Lenny stared at C.J. before breaking out into laughter. "Ha, ha, ha! Good one C.J.! You really had me going there, talking about a couple of bruises on my face."

"I'm not joking." C.J. said seriously. "If you get there late, you'll leave with bruises on your face; complain about the bruises on your face and you'll get twice as much more bruises on your body."

Lenny gulped. He didn't know that they didn't cut rookies any slack. C.J. stared at the scared look on Lenny's face thoughtfully for a while and said,

"You know what? I know a place where you can take your mind off things and still be able to get to Lamont's office on time. C'mon!"

C.J. swam out the door and gestured for Lenny to follow. Lenny shrugged his shoulders and just went along. Anything was better than staying here under the watchful (and fierce… and scary…) eyes of Lamont's boys.

_Scene Change_

Angie swam into the whale wash, looking around. She had missed this place. She missed the bungee crabs jumping, the soap that would get into a whale's eye, the jokes that the employees would crack from time to time. But most of all, besides sitting behind her desk and answering phones, she missed Oscar. Yes, despite all the things that have happened, Angie missed Oscar. She missed the way he would always bring her Kelpie Kreme doughnuts, the way he would always somehow get out of trouble with Sykes, heck! She even missed punching his card in for him and the lame excuses he would make up for being late! She still hated him for what he did though…

Angie pushed the thought out of her head.

'_I don't need anything like that ruining my day, or for that matter, ruining my chance to get the job back…'_

Angie had gone to the Whale Wash to try and get her job back as a receptionist. She would have to be happy, confident, and good at answering phones. She had the good at answering phones part down; now all she had to do was achieve the happy and confident part down. It was kind of hard to do when your apartment just burned down and your friend's actions confused you. She and Rueben were avoiding each other since that incident; and whenever they would see each other, they'd just blush and swim away as far as possible. Not only was this bothering Angie, but she also doubted that she'd get her job back. Fortunately, this thought was erased by this one simple fact: She was better than Ernie and Bernie.

"Hey, you guys! It's Angie!"

Angie turned left and saw all the whale wash workers staring at her. She heard whispers of, "It's Angie," and, "Look, Angie's back." Smiling slightly, she waved and said, "Hi."

This made everyone swim over and hug her, nearly knocking her over in the process.

Angie laughed and said, "Whoa! What's all this?"

"What d'ya mean, 'what's all this?' You don't know how much we've missed you! I mean, sure, the work went on the same as always, but it's not the same without you." One of the turtles said.

"Plus," added a bungee crab, "We _need _you back. Ernie and Bernie have already caused less customers to come here." The bungee crab chuckled. "I know it sounds selfish of me to talk about customers when you've just come back, but hey. A brother's gotta get paid, ya know what I mean?"

Everybody laughed, including Angie. This was what she missed; the laughter. The whale wash crew was like one big happy family… exactly why Angie could relate her feeling to homesickness. The whale wash crew pretty much _was _her family.

"Hey you guys! Stop jokin' us!"

"Yeah, you're hurtin' our feelings!"

Everyone turned around and saw Ernie and Bernie.

"Hey, it's Angie!" Ernie said.

"We've missed you girl!" Bernie said.

"Gimme a hug!" Ernie said, swimming over to Angie. Bernie pulled him away and said,

"Ernie! Have you forgotten what happens every time we hug someone mon?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Ernie said, smacking his head. "Sorry Ang."

"That's okay." Angie said, mentally breathing a sigh of relief. She had never gotten stung by Ernie or Bernie… and she sure didn't want to. "Well, I guess I better go see if I can get the job back."

"Do you need us to go with you?" A fish asked. "You know, to back you up in case things get ugly?"

Angie laughed and said, "No, I don't think that's necessary. But just in case… make sure you whip out those matrix shades. It's always nice to have FBI wannabes in a time of danger." Everybody chuckled. Angie sighed and looked up at Sykes's office. "Well, wish me luck."

Angie swam up to Sykes's office while the workers went back to work. When she was outside the door, she took a deep breath.

'_I hope this goes well…'_

Mustering all the courage from her tail to her head, Angie knocked on Sykes's door. When she didn't hear an answer, she knocked on his door again, and this time heard an,

"It's open."

Angie opened the door and swam in. She saw that Sykes was on the phone with his mother, his back turned, and decided to just sit on the couch and wait. While Sykes was talking, Angie couldn't help but listen in to the conversation. It seemed like Sykes was talking to his mom, which didn't surprise Angie at all. Sykes was very close to his mom. In fact, he called her every day! (Special thanks to 'Shark Tale: The essential guide for this info.)

"Okay mom, sorry that I have to cut this conversation short, but I've got work to do." Sykes was saying. "All right, thanks for understanding. I love you too, buh-bye."

Angie had to stifle a laugh when Sykes said 'I love you too.' It was kind of amusing to hear him say that, especially to his mom.

"All right, so what are you here for…" Sykes began, but he trailed off when he saw that it was Angie. "Angie! It's you!"

"Surprised?" Angie asked with an amused face.

"No! I mean, yeah! I mean… I just thought that you were never coming back!" Sykes said.

"Well, here I am." Angie said.

"It's great to have you back! Now that you're here for your old job back, I can finally kick Ernie and Bernie off the receptionist job." Sykes said. "You are here for your receptionist job, right?"

"Of course I am!" Angie said with a smile. "I wouldn't know a better place to work here."

Sykes breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. So, you've got the job!"

"Great!" Angie said. "When can I start?"

"Right now." Sykes said, smiling at Angie's surprised face. "Of course, if you don't want to start today…"

"Are you crazy? Of course I want to start today! Thanks Mr. Sykes!" Angie said as she quickly swam out the door, filled with happiness and excitement. Everything had gone well.

As she began to swim to her chair, she heard Rueben calling for her.

"Hey Ang! Wait up!"

Angie saw Rueben swimming to her at full speed. When he finally caught up to her, he panted heavily.

"Ang… I've got… something important to tell you." Rueben said in between breaths.

"Well what is it?" Angie asked.

"I asked Ernie and Bernie if they would mind letting you live with them, and they said no!" Rueben said. "Isn't that great?"

"Yeah." Angie said.

"Oh and Ang?" Rueben said. "Listen, about last night… sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It was just…"

"The heat of the moment?" Angie finished for him.

'_That plus the fact that I've liked you as more than a friend sometimes.' _Rueben thought, but all he said was, "Yeah, that."

"Don't worry about it, accidents happen." Angie said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get to work."

"Work?" Rueben questioned. "You mean Sykes already gave you your job back?"

"Yep." Angie said with a smile.

"Well that's good." Rueben said. "I was beginning to miss you around here…"

There was a long, awkward silence. Finally, Rueben said,

"I guess I better get back to work now. See ya later! Oh, and Ernie and Bernie will show you the way to their house after hours!"

Angie watched until Rueben disappeared into the whale's mouth. For some reason, she had a strange feeling whenever she was around him… but instead of thinking about it anymore, Angie just shrugged the feeling off and dismissed as a 'maybe I shouldn't have eaten those waffles.'

_Scene Change_

It was twilight. Two sharks were talking…

"I told you to ask for directions!" Lenny said.

"I know where we're going! Besides, it was only one wrong turn!" C.J. retorted.

"We were almost mugged by a gang of anglerfish!" Lenny said. "Hadn't it been for the fact that we're hit sharks, they probably would've taken everything on us!"

"It's a good thing we're hit sharks." C.J. said. That comment earned a glare from Lenny, causing C.J. to shrug and say, "What?"

"Nothing." Lenny sighed. "Just show me where you're taking me."

"We're already here." C.J. said with a smile.

Lenny and C.J. were floating in front of a tug ship. It was larger than most tugs, and instead of having regular doors, the doors were in the style of those old western saloon doors.

"Here we are." C.J. said. "The 'Tipsy Tug Tavern.'"

"It's a bar?" Lenny said in surprise.

"No, it's the 'Tipsy Tug Tavern.'" C.J. said. "The bar is farther away from here. Now c'mon."

Lenny and C.J. swam into the bar… Erm… 'Tipsy Tug Tavern' and looked around. There were no more tables; they were all filled up with hit sharks, hit barracudas, hit whales, hit anglerfish, hit… well, you get the point. They sure weren't going to sit next to anybody; C.J. could've gotten away with it, but since Lenny was new… it wouldn't work out.

"What're we supposed to do? There aren't any seats." Lenny whispered to C.J.

"I don't know. Maybe we should just…" C.J. began, but Lenny cut him off.

"Hey, I know! I'll just go and ask that sharkess over there!" Lenny said, swimming over to the sharkess that had her back turned. "Excuse me? Miss!"

"Lenny, no!" C.J. called after him, but it was too late.

Lenny was now behind the sharkess. "Excuse me miss, but my friend and I…" Before he could finish, Lenny found himself in a scary situation. The sharkess had him pinned up against the wall and held a switchblade to his throat.

The other sharks looked to see what was happening, thinking it was a fight, but went back to the usual when they realized that it was just a rookie who had messed with the wrong sharkess.

"Don't call me miss." The sharkess said, still holding the switchblade to Lenny's throat. Her dark, space purple eyes had a fire burning inside them.

"Yes miss! I mean ma'am!" Lenny said, his eyes filled with fear.

"Hey! Rhea! Go easy on him, he's with me!"

Rhea turned around and saw C.J. swimming over. She looked at Lenny one more time and lowered the switchblade.

"Sorry 'bout Lenny here." C.J. said. "He's new to the job, and doesn't really know how things go around here."

"That'll explain why he just waltzed up to me and called me 'miss.'" Rhea said.

"Huh…?" Lenny said in a confused tone, trying to grasp everything that was going on. "Okay! Who is she? And why did she try to slice my throat?"

"Oh, allow me to the introductions." C.J. said. "Lenny, this is Rhea. Rhea, this is Lenny."

"How's it goin'?" Rhea said.

"Pretty good, considering the fact that you just put a switchblade to my throat." Lenny replied.

"Sorry 'bout that." Rhea said with a grin. "Reflexes."

For the first time, Lenny noticed what Rhea looked like. She had dark, space purple eyes, had muscles, (not freakishly huge ones like some guys in the tavern had, but you could see that she was strong) and the one thing that Lenny noticed the most, was the purple bandanna around her neck.

"Hey, d'you work in the hit shark business?" Lenny asked.

"Wha… oh. The bandanna made you wonder, huh?" Rhea said. "Well, no, I'm not. I could've been, but Lamont wouldn't let me."

"Why not?" Lenny asked curiously. He knew that she could definitely be a hit shark if she wanted to.

"Because," Rhea growled, "Lamont said that it was a woman's place to be in the kitchen, and that I should leave the real work to the men. Sexist son of a…"

"What?" C.J. said, cutting Rhea off. "Now that's wrong! You could be a hit shark! Trust me, your target will just get one look at you and your blade, and he'll swim away screaming!"

"Yeah, that's true." Rhea said. A small smirk then appeared on her face. "But you know what? Even though it still makes me mad, I'm less mad than I used to be? Wanna know why? Because he's paying me for this bar!"

Lenny and C.J. laughed.

"You own this bar?" Lenny asked.

"No." Rhea said. "The guy who works here was sick, so I came in for him. I just work here."

"What do you do?" Lenny asked.

"You're quite the inquisitive one, aren't you?" Rhea said. "Well, I…" Rhea's explanation was cut off by the sound of two hit anglerfish arguing.

"Hey! You stole my beer!" One of them shouted.

"No I didn't!" The other one shouted.

"Yes you did! You're lying!" Anglerfish one said.

"You callin' me a liar?" Anglerfish two said, getting up from his seat.

"I just did!" Anglerfish one shouted. "And you know what? Yo mama is one too!"

Anglerfish two gasped angrily. "That's it! You're goin' down!"

Anglerfish two jumped on Anglerfish one and began to punch the crap out of him. Anglerfish one recovered and began to bite the crap out of Anglerfish one. Everyone except of Rhea, Lenny and C.J. crowded around the two fighting anglerfish and began to chant, "Fight, fight, fight!"

"Excuse me boys." Rhea said in an annoyed tone, rolling up invisible sleeves and swimming towards the fight. "I've got work to do."

Rhea swam through the crowd of chanting hit sharks, hit barracudas, blah, blah, blah… into the big fight cloud of fighting hit anglerfish. She broke them apart without as much as a scratch on her.

"All right! Break it up!" Rhea shouted.

"Hey lady! What'chu do that for? I was winning!" Anglerfish one said hotly.

"Don't call me 'lady.' I've got a name; use it." Rhea said angrily.

"Hey sweetheart, chill. We wouldn't want to hurt a pretty little thing like you…" Anglerfish two began, grabbing Rhea. He did the wrong thing.

Before Anglerfish two knew it, he had a switchblade to his throat. It was the same switchblade Rhea used on Lenny, only she put the blade closer to Anglerfish two's throat than to Lenny's throat.

"Listen you." Rhea hissed in a dangerous tone. "If you ever, EVER touch me again, I'll make sure that this blade right here touches you. You got that!"

Anglerfish one nodded his head slowly, not wanting to take the risk of being sliced by the blade.

"Oh, and one more thing." Rhea said. She pulled Anglerfish one closer to her. "_Never _call me sweetheart." She dropped Anglerfish one down to the floor and watched him swim away. She eyed the crowd around her. "Anybody else wanna test me?"

Everybody quickly swam back to their seats, and everything went back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Rhea swam back to C.J. and Lenny.

"Does that answer your question?" Rhea asked.

"It sure does." Lenny said. He suddenly remembered something. "Hey, what time is it?"

Rhea looked at the clock that was on the wall. "Eight fifty-seven. Why?"

"Eight fifty-seven? I've gotta get to Lamont's office!" Lenny said.

"I'll come with you." C.J. said. "Lamont said that he wanted me to come too."

"All right boys! Hey, when you come back from his office make sure you stop by to get a drink!" Rhea called out.

"All right, we will!" C.J. said.

So, C.J. and Lenny swam to Lamont's office to get Lenny's first job…

_Scene Change_

"Hey boss!" Tex the swordfish said. "Maybe they aren't coming! Maybe your new recruit was eating a burrito that was too big, and… oww!"

Ace had hit his partner. "Quiet stupid." He hissed.

"I'm not stupid!" Tex said.

"Yes you are." Ace said.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"NO I'M NOT!"

"YES YOU ARE!"

"NO I'M NOT TIMES INFINITY!"

"Times infinity?" Ace commented. "That's an expression only little kids say! You are stupid!"

"Both of you, shut up!" Lamont snapped.

"Yes boss." Ace and Tex said.

At that same time, Lenny and C.J. had came into Lamont's office.

"So, you guys came." Lamont said. "And you're on time too."

"Yeah, C.J. here told me that you've got a job for me to do…?" Lenny said.

"Yes. Lenny, you're being assigned on your first job." Lamont said. "Seeing that you are only a rookie, you won't be able to kill people… yet."

'_Thank God.' _Lenny thought.

"Instead, your first job will be to deliver alcoholic drinks to Don Lino and the rest of the mafia." Lamont finished.

"What!" Lenny shouted. "I can't do that! I'm not doing that!"

"Remember who you're talking to." Lamont hissed. "And remember what I said. If you run away, my boys will kill you. This counts for not obeying what I say too. If you don't do as I say, I'll have Ace and Tex over here take care of you."

Lenny looked over at the two swordfish that were looking at him in an evil way. He flinched and turned away.

"So, what's it going to be?" Lamont said in a dangerously low tone.

Lenny looked at Lamont with a look of pure hatred. "I'll do the job."

"There's a good boy, I knew you'd see things my way." Lamont said with a smirk.

Lenny fought the urge to say something back. There was only one other shark that had said, 'that's a good boy to him'. That was Markie, and we all know how close and buddy-buddy he and Lenny were.

"When do I start the job?" Lenny growled.

"Tomorrow at eight 'o'clock. Come outside my ship and pick up the goods." Lamont said, smirking evilly. "You're dismissed."

C.J. and Lenny swam out the office and back to the apartment. On the way home, Lenny was thinking nervously.

'_Great! Now what am I gonna do? I can't go back there! They'll notice me!' _

Lenny had a lot on his mind. It was either do the job or get killed… and he couldn't swim away. Not this time. It looked like there was nothing he could do. However, as he swam into his apartment, there was one thought in his mind;

'_If I see Oscar, I'm gonna kill him.'_

_TBC…_

_Rueben might have something going on with Angie? Angie's living with Ernie and Bernie? Carlotta's got a thing for Lenny? What's gonna happen next? Will Lino notice his son? Will Angie make it through life with Ernie and Bernie? Will Carlotta really get her revenge on Lenny? What about Lola? There's only one way to find out, and that's to stick around for the next chappie!_

_R&R pleez! New character profiles will appear soon. _


	17. A date? Friends hitting on each other?

_Author's Notes: It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Aqua Aussie with the next chappie to her story! Wooh! Anyhoo… what up mates? I'm updating faster than expected… school is really kicking my butt… I've got two projects that are due on the same day… My P.E. class is going to kill me… And above all, I have to watch after my precious (evil) little brother and sister... But I'm back… And now for some shout-outs to my reader buddies…_

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Uh-oh is right. Lola and Carlotta are nothin' but trouble… Mwahaha…**

**MononokeShojo- Yay, Sykes! Yeah, Sykes, Ernie and Bernie are great… funny too… You love Lenny? You are aware that you two are different species, right? You'll have to explain a few things to your parents… and I'm glad to know that he's your star in the darkness… **

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Lino sure would have his boys paying Lamont a visit. Wishing for a Lino & Lenny reunion? Well, keep wishing. I mean, I can't just end the story now, can I? **

_A'ight, so in this chappie, Lenny has to go back to Reef City… and Angie has to live with Ernie and Bernie… what will happen?_

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Seventeen: First Jobs and New Homes**

The Whale Wash's working hours had ended. The bungee crabs were all helping each other get out of the bungee ropes, the turtles were washing the wax off their backs, the tongue scrubbers were putting up their brushes and washing the whale's burped up food on them, and Angie the receptionist was getting ready to follow Ernie and Bernie back to their apartment. She had put the phones back in order (she had hidden the contents of her Kelpy Kreme Doughnuts too) so basically, she was ready to go.

"Ang! Hey, Ang!"

Angie turned around and saw Rueben swimming towards her. He still had his tongue scrubbing brush in his fin; a sign telling Angie that he had rushed.

"Hey Rube, how's it going?" Angie said. "Uh… you know you can go home now, right?"

Rueben glanced at the brush that was still in his fin and laughed. "Oh, that, well, I guess I kind of forgot to put it up. But, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Angie asked.

"Well, I wanted to know if you would like to go to the movies with me Saturday night." Rueben said, looking down at the floor. "They're having a special 'free night.'"

Angie didn't answer. She only looked at Rueben in surprise, her mouth trying to say words. Rueben's face changed into a look of disappointment and he said,

"You don't have to say yes. I just wanted to know. You're probably busy anyway…"

"Yes!"

Rueben's eyes looked up from their place on the ground. "Huh?"

"You wanted to know if I would like to go to the movies with you." Angie said. "And I said 'yes.'"

Rueben smiled and the disappointment disappeared from his face. "That's great! The movie starts at eight thirty. Can I pick you up around then?"

"Eight thirty sounds great." Angie said with a smile. "But for now… I'd put up that brush. It stinks."

Rueben smiled and hugged Angie before swimming off. As Angie watched Rueben swim off, the strange feeling came back.

'_It's probably something I ate.' _Angie thought, but a voice in her head had something else to say.

'_It's not something you ate. Don't ignore it. You're feeling it for a reason.' _A voice in her head said.

'_What's the reason?' _Angie asked the voice in her head.

'_Only you can figure that out.' _The voice in her head replied.

Just as Angie was pondering what those words meant, Ernie and Bernie had swum into her view.

"Hey Angie, it's time to go." Ernie said.

"Yeah mon, did you forget?" Bernie said. "You get to live with us for a while!"

"We'll be like roommates!" Ernie said.

Angie smiled and said, "I guess we will be like roommates. So, where do you live?"

Ernie and Bernie smiled at each other before saying, "Right this way mon."

_Scene Change_

Angie stared at Ernie and Bernie's place in awe.

"Welcome to our humble home." Bernie said.

Ernie and Bernie's apartment was indeed humble, but it was also very cool. Though they didn't live at the top of the reef, they didn't live at the bottom. They were in the middle class neighborhood. Their house wasn't as big and grand as Oscar's penthouse, but after living in a broke-down apartment, Angie wasn't complaining. The walls of the apartment were a yellow-white color, the floor had velvet carpeting and hardware, there was actually a dining room, there were more than two bedrooms, there were fine quality windows, and (dig this) the bathroom actually worked! But, that wasn't the thing that caught Angie's eye. Near the windows, on top of an elevated floor, there was a karaoke set and a DJ set.

"Cool huh?" Ernie said. "It's not as grand as some apartments and penthouses, but it's what we call home."

Angie continued to look the place up and down. After a while she sighed and said, "I wish I was like you guys."

"You wish you were like us?" Ernie laughed. "You mean you want to be Jellyfish and work for Sykes all day?"

"No, I mean in terms of status!" Angie said. "You know; middle class."

"Oh, so that's why you want to be like us." Bernie said, nodding his head.

"Why do you want to be middle class?" Ernie asked.

"Anything's better than being a bottom-feeder!" Angie said. "Being middle class sure is. I mean, middle class fish have all that they need to live."

"What makes you say that?" Bernie asked.

Angie thought for a moment and said, "Well… I mean…"

"Don't worry, we know what you mean." Ernie said. "But not all middle class fish have everything they need."

"Some of them are on the verge on being poor." Bernie continued. "In fact, most of the guys who work at the Whale Wash used to be middle class."

"Really?" Angie said in a. "Like who?"

"You know Earl?" Bernie said, watching Angie nod her head. "Well, he used to be middle class."

"What happened?" Angie asked.

"The usual middle class life." Ernie answered. When he saw Angie looking at him with a look of confusion, he continued. "He was going out to movie and dinners; not a lot though; only once a week or so. The money went to the rich fish. Then, he donated to the Red Cross for a charity fund. That money went to the poor fish. One day, he didn't have enough money to pay his bills, so he had to move down to the lower class level."

Angie just stared. She didn't have a comment to make and seemed to understand what Ernie was saying.

"I don't know why, but that's just how life is." Ernie continued. "The rich keep getting richer, the poor just keep getting poorer, and the middle class is hanging on one string trying to take care of everybody."

'_I didn't know that.' _Angie thought. _'I thought middle class people had it made.'_

After a long silence, Bernie said, "So… who's up for pizza? I'm buyin.'"

"I am!" Ernie said excitedly. "What about you Angie?"

Angie smiled. Pizza did sound good right now. "Okay, but can we get the stuffed crust kind?"

"Sure can mon." Bernie said, dialing some numbers. "Just as soon as this guy answers…"

Angie sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Everything was going fine. She had a place to stay for a while (In a middle class apartment!) and everything at the Whale Wash was going fine.

'_I guess things are gonna turn out okay after all.' _Angie thought.

_Scene Change_

"Len…"

"No."

"C'mon, there's nothing you can do about it anyway…"

"I don't care."

C.J. was trying to persuade Lenny to do the job. If he didn't, C.J. knew that Lamont would kill him.

"Look, you _have _to take the job." C.J. tried to reason. "If you don't, Lamont's boys will rip you apart!" C.J. thought about something for a second. Then he said, "Lenny… do you not want to go because of the fighting the job might have in store?"

"Yeah!" Lenny lied. "Uh… I can't fight."

"That's not true." C.J. said, crossing his fins.

"Yes it is!" Lenny said. "Uh… I'm a lover, not a fighter."

"Really?" C.J. asked.

"Well, no, I just don't like to fight." Lenny said.

C.J. sighed. "Look Lenny… if you don't take the job, you'll _die. _Do you want that to happen?"

"No, but I don't care." Lenny mumbled. "I'm not doing the job… and I'm especially not going back to Reef City."

Finally, it hit C.J. Lenny didn't want to go on the job not because he was stubborn; it was because of something in Reef City!

"What's wrong with Reef City?" C.J. said. "Does it have a bad memory?"

"Yeah, it does. That memory has the reason why I'm here right now." Lenny said. "Plus, the guy we're delivering the drinks too…"

"Lino?" C.J. said.

"Yeah, him." Lenny replied. "Well, let's just say that I've got a past with him…"

"Wait, you _know _him?" C.J. said. "But… how? And how come you don't wanna see him again? What, did you backstab him or somethin'?"

When Lenny heard C.J. ask him why he didn't want to go down to Reef City, it finally dawned on him that C.J. didn't know who he was, in terms of status.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" Lenny said in a near whisper.

"Of course I do, you're Lenny!" C.J. said. "Don't talk stupid man."

"You don't know…" Lenny whispered. In a voice that C.J. could hear, he said "Do you know who the shark slayer is?"

C.J.'s eyes widened as he said, "Do I know who he is? Of course I know who he is! I saw him beat up this guy on TV! I'd hate to cross paths with him!" His tone changed when he chuckled and said, "And I also heard that Lino's son was helping him out. Even heard that he dressed up like a dolphin…"

"Well, you're looking at the guy who dressed up as the dolphin." Lenny said, crossing his fins.

Realization spread across C.J.'s face. "You mean… you're that don guy's… oh…"

"Yeah, 'oh.'" Lenny said. "Now do you see why I don't wanna do the job?"

C.J. didn't answer; he only looked like he was deep in thought. Suddenly, the light bulb popped over C.J.'s head. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" Lenny asked in confusion.

"You'll need a disguise!" C.J. said in an excited tone.

"Wait, what?" Lenny said, getting confused. "What will I need a disguise for? What are you talking about?"

"Look, you have to do the job, but you don't want your old man to notice you, right?" C.J. began.

"Right…"

"So, you'll need a disguise." C.J. finished. "And I know just the sharkess to help. Rhea."

"Rhea?" Lenny questioned.

"Yeah! She's great at making disguises." C.J. said. "Before she worked at the tavern, she was a thief, and she needed to make disguises so the cops wouldn't notice her."

"I take it that she was good." Lenny said, a smile forming on his face.

"You bet!" C.J. said. "She was the sharkess version of 'Sly Cooper!'" (A/N: I'm a

Sly Cooper fan!)

"Uh-huh." Lenny said, the smile now fully on his lips. "Are you sure you want to get her for the job because she's a good costume maker, or is it because you like her?"

C.J.'s mouth opened and closed without a word, trying to find a response to Lenny's question. "No." C.J. managed to say.

"You're lying." Lenny said.

"No I'm not." C.J. said, a blush creeping up his face.

"Yes you arrrre." Lenny said in a teasing voice.

"No I'm not." C.J. said, beginning to get nervous.

"Yes you arrrre." Lenny said in his teasing voice. "You like her, don't you? C'mon, C.J., tell the truth…"

"Fine! You wanna know the truth? I DO like her!" C.J. finally shouted out. "I think she's fine! And I don't mean 'fine' as in 'okay', I mean fine as in F-I-N-E exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark fine!"

Lenny just smirked and said, "I knew it."

C.J. glared at Lenny and said, "I'm gonna kill you for that. That being said, let's go down to Rhea's ship. We've only got a few minutes until we go down to get the goods."

So, C.J. and Lenny headed off the Rhea's ship.

_Scene Change_

_Ding Dong._

Rhea was watching a new episode of WWF smack down, trying to see who would win. She rooted for The Rock, but Stone Cold could probably get it too.

_Ding Dong._

Rhea rolled her eyes as the doorbell rang again.

"Go away!" She shouted in the direction of the door. When the doorbell didn't ring, she smiled. Now she could watch her wrestling…

_DING DONG!_

Rhea growled in annoyance. All she wanted to do was watch her show, but some idiot had to come and ring her doorbell, even after she told them to go away. Getting up, she swam over to the door, ready to tell off the person who was ringing the bell…

_DING DONG!_

Rhea had opened the door and answered with an annoyed, "WHAT?" she was surprised to see Lenny and C.J. at her door.

"Hi there Rhea." Lenny said in a small voice, scared by Rhea's outburst.

"Oh, hi Lenny." Rhea said.

"What about me?" C.J. said.

Rhea rolled her eyes and said, "Hi C.J. What do you two want?"

"Do you think that you could give Lenny a disguise?" C.J. asked.

"Why?" Rhea asked.

Lenny explained everything that had happened, making Rhea's eyes widen.

"You're that don guy's son?" Rhea said. "But… if you are… why are you _here_…?"

"That's a story for another time." Lenny said hastily, "But right now I really need to get a disguise!"

"All right, I'll help you out." Rhea said. "But tell anybody about this and I'll kill you."

"Don't worry, our lips are sealed." C.J. said. "And right now, I've gotta get the goods. So, if you excuse me…" C.J. swam off to Lamont's ship to get the drinks.

When C.J. was out of sight, Lenny looked at Rhea and said, "So, what type of disguise are we talking about?"

Rhea just smirked and pulled him into her house…

_Scene Change_

C.J. had arrived at Lamont's ship and swam into his office.

"Hey boss, we're here."

Lamont turned around in his chair and casually said, "Where's Lenny?"

"He's trying to put on his bandanna." C.J. lied. "He'll be able to do the job though."

"You better not be lying to me." Lamont growled.

"I'm not." C.J. said. "He'll do the job."

"Oh well, I've got something for you and Lenny if you're lying." Lamont said. "This is what I want you to do. You see that box over there?"

C.J. glanced at the corner Lamont was talking about. "Yes."

"Good. That is what you'll be delivering to Don Lino and his boys." Lamont said. "Make sure that no one notices you. When you take the drinks to them, make sure that they pay you one hundred fifty-five clams. If they don't, take one of them hostage and threaten to hurt him if they don't pay up. You got that?"

C.J. nodded his head.

"Good. There's a whale shark that will take you to Reef City, so you should be there by nine thirty. Don't try anything foolish, understand?"

C.J. nodded his head and said, "Yes sir."

"All right. You are dismissed."

C.J. grabbed the box of drinks and carried it out the room.

_Scene Change_

C.J. knocked on Rhea's door. "Hey, ya done with his disguise now?"

Rhea opened the door and leaned against the frame. "I sure am."

"Well, can I see it?" C.J. asked.

"I dunnow, that's up to you." Rhea said as C.J. swam in the door. "But I've gotta warn you, his disguise isn't what you've been expecting…!"

C.J. didn't listen. When he swam into the living room, he saw a sharkess floating by the couch.

'_Dang, she is FINE!' _C.J. said. He swam over to the sharkess and put his fin around her. "Hey there baby." He said in a silky smooth voice. "You must be tired, 'cause you've been swimming through my mind all day."

The sharkess looked very uncomfortable. After C.J. said that, the two heard uncontrollable laughter. They looked over near the hallway and saw Rhea rolling on the floor with laughter.

"What's so funny?" C.J. asked with his fin still around the sharkess.

"The sharkess that you've got your arm around and just said a really bad pick-up line to…" Rhea began.

"Yes?" C.J. asked.

"…Is Lenny." Rhea finished.

C.J. stared at the sharkess in horror.

"Hey there handsome." Lenny said in a feminine voice.

"Ahhh!" C.J. took his fin from around Lenny and swam backwards towards the couch, where he tripped over a couch arm. Rhea and Lenny were laughing so hard they began to cry.

"It's not funny!" C.J. said.

Lenny and Rhea heard him, but they kept laughing. The look on C.J.'s face when he found out that he had just hit on Lenny was funny enough to keep them laughing for hours.

"Grrrr… Stop it!" C.J. shouted.

When her laughter finally calmed down, Rhea said, "Chill C.J. We were just messin' with you."

"Besides," added Lenny, "That's what you get for hitting on me."

"Shut up." C.J. said. "But still… why are you dressed up like a girl?"

Lenny did indeed look like a girl. He had on a blue shirt with the words 'Cute but Physco' on it, bright red lip gloss, what looked like freckles on his face, and a cerulean beret. And, of course, he had on his blue bandanna.

"Hey dude, I wasn't happy when I found out that I had to wear this, okay?" Lenny said defensively. "I just went along with it because it would keep me from being noticed."

"Right… cross-dresser." C.J. said with a smile.

"Friend hitter-onner. Lenny said with the same smile.

"…Oh, you're gonna pay for that." C.J. said.

"Hey you guys, don't you have a job to do?" Rhea asked with a smile.

Lenny and C.J. looked at each other before shouting "That's right!" and bolting out the door. Man, that whale shark and Lamont sure weren't gonna be happy.

_Scene Change_

It had been a long time, and the pizza hadn't arrived.

"I'm hungry." Ernie moaned.

"I want my pizza." Bernie whined.

Both Ernie and Bernie looked at Angie expectedly. Angie noticed this look and said,

"What?"

"Go down to Pizza Hut and find out why it's taking our pizza so long to arrive." Bernie said.

"Why do I have to do it?" Angie asked.

"Because we're doing you a favor." Ernie pointed out. "We let you live with us until you're back on your fins, so the least you could do is go down to get a pizza."

Angie sighed. "I'll go get the pizza."

"Thanks Ang." Bernie said. "You're a lifesaver."

So, Angie went down to get the pizza…

_Scene Change_

The whale shark wasn't happy at all. Lenny and C.J. had made it to Reef City, but they had to listen to the shark's constant whining about how they were late.

"I thought that ride would never end." C.J. groaned.

"I know." Lenny said. "He just kept going on and on and on! Over and over it was 'I can't believe you guys came late! You really should be on time more! My sister has better punctuality than you, blah, blah, blah…"

"Well, we're here now." C.J. said. Right in front of them was 'the Love Boat.'

"Yeah." Lenny sighed. Even though he was in disguise and knew that nobody would recognize him, he still had a fear that this would turn out to be like that scene at the sit-down.

"Well, here we go." C.J. said as he knocked on the door.

Immediately after he knocked on the door, Luca answered it. "Hey boss! The guys are here with the drinks!" He looked at Lenny and C.J. and added, "Right this way please."

Lenny and C.J. followed Luca into the ship. When they reached the hallway, Lenny began to wander off. He had missed this place. He looked around the hallways at the familiar place that he knew. When he had finally stopped looking around, he noticed that C.J. and Luca were gone.

'_Shoot!' _Lenny thought. _'I lost them!'_

"Excuse me miss? Are you lost?"

Lenny turned around and saw… his best friend, Cody!

"Um… yeah, I am." Lenny said in a high voice.

"So…" Cody said, swimming over and putting his fin around "you aren't from around here, are you? What's your name?"

'_Great! My best friend is hitting on me!' _"Uh… it's Leslie." Lenny said in his high voice.

"Really? I thought it would be 'Angel'… 'cause I sure am lookin' at one." Cody said suavely.

'_What is with all these pick-up lines? They suck!' _Lenny thought.

"So, are you lost?" Cody asked.

"Uh, yes! Actually, I am." Lenny said. "I'm looking for Lu… I mean, this octopus. You see, I'm supposed to be delivering some drinks…"

"Wait! You mean… you're part of Lamont's hit squad?" Cody said, his eyes widening. He noticed the blue bandanna around Lenny's neck.

"I take it that you know about Lamont?" Lenny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I know about him? He's the boss of one of the most ruthless, bloodthirsty hit squad ever!" Cody said while shaking in fear. "And I've just hit on one of his employers!" Cody began to sweat nervously. "You aren't gonna kill me, are ya'? 'Cause I'm really sorry…"

"I know you're sorry. I'll let you go… this time." Lenny said in a dangerous (yet very high) voice.

Cody nodded his head and said, "I guess I better be taking you to your friend, huh? Right this way…"

Lenny followed Cody through the hallways and ended up at the dining room. There, he saw C.J. and some mafia sharks looking at him.

"There you are!" C.J. said. "C'mon, I need you to help seal the deal."

Lenny swam over to C.J. and crossed his fins, trying to look intimidating.

"Who's the girl?" A shark asked.

Lenny growled at the shark that said that. His name was Tony, and he never really liked him. He'd always pick on Lenny and never gave him a moment's peace.

"I'd watch your tone, because this 'girl' has beaten up bigger guys than you without even trying." C.J. said.

"And my name is Leslie." Lenny said dangerously.

"Um… okay." Tony said in a scared tone. "So… where's the goods?"

"Right here." C.J. said, opening up the box.

Tony and the other sharks each picked up one bottle of wine, whiskey, or some other form of liquor.

"'Ey," One of the sharks said, "you sure this here whiskey ain't tainted?"

"Aw, c'mon you guys." Lenny said in an innocent tone. "D'you think we'd really do that to you?"

"Yes." Another one of the guys said.

"Well, we wouldn't." Lenny said. "You can try it out for yourself."

Tony looked at the whiskey in his fins and said, "All right, we trust ya', but if anyone here gets poisoned, we'll hurt both of yous guys."

C.J. chuckled and said, "I doubt that." He looked around before saying, "So, where's the money?"

"The boss has it." Tony said. "Hold up for a sec… boss!"

At that moment, Don Lino swam into the room. "What?"

'_Please don't let him notice me.' _Lenny pleaded in his mind.

"These guys say they want da money." Tony said.

Lino looked over at C.J. and Lenny. He didn't pay C.J. any attention, but he did stare at Lenny for a while. "Hey…" He said, "you look familiar…"

"I've never seen you in my life." Lenny said hastily.

"Ha, looks like the tough girl has turned into a powder puff." Tony chuckled.

Lenny gave Tony the look he had when he was angry and was like Michael Corleone. Tony was scared, but he refused to back away.

"Don't get her mad, Tony. Remember who she works for and what she can probably do to you." Lino said. "'Cause if she begins to beat you up… I'm gonna sit back and watch. Now, say you're sorry."

Tony gave Lino a look, and he returned it, daring Tony to say anything. Tony gave in and said, "Sorry."

"You're forgiven." Lenny said in a taunting voice.

Tony sensed the taunt in Lenny's voice, and he wasn't going to let him (her) get away with it. He rushed towards him (her), expecting to pin him (her) up against the wall, but found out that it was he who would be pinned up against the wall. Lenny had Tony pinned up against the wall with the knife to his throat. Rhea had taught him how to do that after he had gotten into his disguise, and even though he hadn't mastered it, he was quick for a beginner. The other sharks who were smart enough to know not to mess with a hit shark, no matter how he or she was, floated back and watched in surprise.

"Don't do that again." Lenny hissed, and he took the knife away from Tony's throat. "I won't hurt you now, but the next time… I won't hold back." Lenny swam back to C.J. with a smirk on his face and acted like nothing had happened. _'Wow, you don't know how long I've wanted to do that!'_

Unlike Markie, Tony had enough sense to keep his mouth shut, and he swam back to the group of sharks. C.J. looked at Lenny as if he had gone native. (which he did.)

"So, if it's not any trouble Mr. Don sir, can we have the money?" Lenny said in an innocent voice.

"Sure." Lino said. He swam over to C.J. and Lenny and gave them one hundred fifty-five clams. "You can go now."

C.J. counted to see if the money was right and said, "Alright. Thanks ya'll."

With those words, Lenny and C.J. swam out the door.

_Scene Change_

"Whoa! What was that back there?" C.J. was saying to Lenny.

"You know that guy, Tony?" Lenny said. He waited for C.J. to nod his head before saying, "Well, he always used to pick on me back when I used to live here. I figured it was payback time, so…" Lenny trailed off right there and chuckled. "Man, you don't know how long I've wanted to do that!"

"You must've been holding that in for a long time." C.J. chuckled.

"Yup." Lenny said. "And now, for something else I've wanted to do…" Lenny took off the shirt and make-up, and balled them up. "I couldn't stay like that forever."

"Neither could I man." C.J. said. "Now c'mon, let's hurry up and get to that whiny whale shark… Lenny?"

Lenny had a far away look in his eyes. "Here, hold these for me." He said as he handed him the clothes.

"Hey, what's goin' on…" C.J. began, but stopped. He smelled blood and already knew the answer. "Oh no…"

Lenny swam off into the city and disappeared.

"Lenny, wait! Forget about that fish!" C.J. called out, but gave up. "Aww man," he whined, "I don't wanna hear that dude's whining…"

_Scene Change_

Angie was swimming back from Pizza hut, a large pizza in her fins. She was tired. She had to yell at this fish for not taking down the order when Bernie ordered it, and then she had scratched herself badly, leaving a bleeding cut.

"Great." Angie said. "Things can't get any worse…"

Angie had spoken too soon. Because after she had said that, a shark had come out and pinned her to the ground, about to eat her.

"Please don't eat me!" Angie begged. "Please!"

"Angie?"

Angie looked up and saw that the shark that was about to devour her was none other than Lenny.

"Lenny?" Angie said in a confused tone. "But… what're you doing here?"

"I came here for a job." Lenny said. He slowly backed away from Angie with a shocked expression. "Ang… I'm sorry." Angie was going to say something, but Lenny swam off too quickly.

After staring for a while, Angie turned around to retrieve the dropped pizza. She was surprised to see that it wasn't messed up in any type of way.

_Wow. Even though he's got a taste for blood now, he's still gentle.' _Angie thought. Packing up the pizza, Angie swam back to Ernie and Bernie's apartment.

_Scene Change_

"Daddy?"

Lamont turned around and saw his daughter, Carlotta, floating in his office. "What is it?"

"I came to talk to you about your new recruit, Lenny." Carlotta said.

"What about Lenny?" Lamont said.

"Well, you see…" Carlotta said in a tearful voice, fake tears coming in her eyes, "he broke my heart yesterday." She began to cry (fake cry) and covered up her face.

"He did what?" Lamont said in an angry voice. "I'll teach him to do that…"

"Wait! Don't hurt him!" Carlotta said in a heartbroken tone. "I don't want to cause any trouble. So… d'you think I can assign him a job?"

"Of course, sweetheart." Lamont said in a tender voice he only used on his daughter. "So, which job do you want him to get?"

Carlotta just smiled and said, "You know that guy who owes you money? I want him to deliver… a message."

_TBC…_

_Carlotta's got a plan up her sleeves? Lenny almost ate Angie? Rueben has a date with Angie? What's next? Will sparks fly on the date? Will Carlotta's plan get Lenny into trouble? Will Lenny ever go back home? What about Lola? There's only one way to find out, and that's to stick around for the next chappie!_

_R&R pleez! Character profiles didn't come out last time, so they'll be appearing soon this time, I promise. And suggestions are really appreciated as long as it doesn't end the story… I've got the ending all planned out… but now, it's time for…_

**Reviewer's Choice!**

What would you like to see in the next chappie?

Karaoke Night at the Tipsy Tavern (If you want this idea, name a song unless you want me to pick one)

**OR**

A series of unfortunate events (Not the story, but really bad things happening to people

**Listen up people! At the end of the story I was thinking of putting bloopers, outtakes, and interviews with the made-up characters! Cool, huh?**

_R&R pleez!_


	18. Oh no! Stuff's happening!

_Author's Note: I'm back with another chappie… And it should be cooler than ever! Just to say something, thanx to all the people who answered my e-mail about a school myth. (Those who got the e-mail know what I'm talkin' about) Okay, so in the last chappie, Carlotta stirred up some trouble and Rueben asked Angie out on a date. What's next? But, before we begin the story, it's time for my daily shout-outs!_

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Glad ya thought it was funny. Yup, Carlotta's startin' some trouble… maybe it does involve Jamel and Andre, maybe it doesn't. But don't worry, even if they aren't in this chappie, you'll see them again… eventually…**

**MononokeShojo- Outtakes and interviews are great! Don't worry; the end of the story isn't coming anytime soon. In your next life you'll be a sharkess… OOOkayyyy… yeah, it's kind of annoying to have 'word bug you about how sharkess isn't a real word. And as for the song… you'll see what it is…**

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Evidence? What evidence? (Motions for Lenny to hide the evidence) And you shall see your series of unfortunate events… you mean person… voting for the series of bad things… (Sobs) But then again, after what I'm putting in here, I really shouldn't be calling anybody mean.**

_In the reviewer's choice there was a tie… that means that I'll go with both. So, prepare to see songs and little girls cry. Lenny's job is based off an idea I got from an episode of 'Lost.' _

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Eighteen: Jobs and Dates**

It was Saturday night; the day Rueben and Angie would go out on their date. Oscar paced in his living room, wondering why Angie was going out with Rueben. He had found out about the date as soon as he had found out that Angie was back on the job. (Which was very soon because news came by fast at the Whale Wash.) Yes, after Angie came back Oscar started to go back down to the Whale Wash, but he never talked to Angie or Rueben, and treated him like he was invisible. He knew that he deserved it after everything he had done he deserved it, but it still hurt. The rest of the Whale Wash crew had noticed this, but they didn't pay it much attention. Angie was mad at Oscar sometimes, and for all they knew, it could've been because he didn't help her out when her house had burned down. They were surprised when they saw Rueben ignore him, but they didn't pay that any attention either, because for all they knew, Rueben and Oscar were still the best of friends and they'd get back to being buddies again. If only they knew…

When Oscar had found out about Angie's date with Rueben, he was shocked as well as heartbroken. Shocked because it was kind of hard to know that your best friend was going out with the girl you like and heartbroken because after the whole Wale Wash incident (the incident that Oscar called 'The Day That Started It All') he had realized his true feelings for Angie. Now that she was going out with Rueben, Oscar knew that there was a chance that he'd never get to tell her how he felt, and even if he did, she wouldn't like him anymore. If he had told him how he felt in the first place and not have lied, Angie probably would still like him, but unfortunately for Oscar, he didn't know what he had until it was too late. Funny how you don't know what you have until you lose it, huh?

'_I wonder if I can stop the date…' _Oscar thought.

That's right; Oscar had half the mind to stop the date somehow. In one plan, he was thinking of telling Angie that Rueben was cheating on him. Then he remembered that it was only their first date and there weren't any official sparks. In another plan, he thought of following them on their date and making sure that nothing too romantic happened. Then he realized that if he was caught, he would sink to an all time new low, and Rueben and Angie would probably either cuss him out or kick his butt. But the one thing that made him not do anything to stop the date was this: Angie would lose even more respect in him, which he didn't want to happen, and Rueben would hate him even more, which he didn't want to happen either. He knew both of them for way too long, and he really didn't have any other friends.

'_I guess I'll go for a swim around the old neighborhood to get my mind of things…' _

Oscar had swum out his penthouse, heading for his old neighborhood. He was nearly halfway there when he decided to look back at his present home; the top of the reef. When he looked up at it during the time when he lived in a broke-down apartment, it seemed like the best place to be. Now, it didn't fascinate him anymore. He was used to the good life, and since he used to be a bottom-feeder he didn't take his new, glamorous life for granted; but there were times when he wished he lived in that apartment again just as long as things were back to normal; a thought that shocked Oscar when he had first thought of it.

A few minutes later, Oscar was in front of his old apartment. He was glad to see his old home again, and even more happy to see that nobody had moved in there. While looking at his apartment, Oscar must've looked sad, because Crazy Joe had popped out of the dumpster next to him and said,

"Hey Oscar! You feelin' okay?"

"Huh!" Oscar said, startled by Crazy Joe's sudden question. "Oh, it's just you. Yeah, I'm okay."

"You sure?" Crazy Joe asked. "You look like you've just lost your best friend."

'_I've lost two best friends.' _"Naw, I'm fine." Oscar said. "Just… remembering."

"Oh, well… if you ever feel sad, just talk to me." Crazy Joe said. "I'm your financial advisor after all."

'_Why does he think that he's my financial advisor?' _"What does being a financial advisor have to do with my problems?" Oscar asked.

"… Wanna see my puppets?" Crazy Joe said after a while.

"Uh… maybe later." Oscar said, backing away from the dumpster.

"All right. It's your loss." Crazy Joe said with a shrug. He disappeared under the trash and shouted, "Hey! I found a cookie!"

Oscar decided to get away from Crazy Joe before things got weirder. Just as he was about to go back home, three voices rang out from behind him.

"Stop! We've got you surrounded!"

Oscar turned around and saw the Shorties floating behind him. "Ha, ya'll can't surround me." Oscar said with a small smile.

"Yes we can!" the yellow and white Shortie said. "We know tai-fin-do!"

The three Shorties began to mimic kung-fu noises and punch invisible objects.

"Yeah right." Oscar said with a smile. He then noticed something. "Hey Shorties, where's your spray paint cans?"

"Officer O'Hara took them from us." The blue Shortie said. "He said that if we were good and stopped spraying graffiti on the walls, he'd give them back."

"Like that's gonna happen." Oscar scoffed.

"Hey! It could happen!" The brown Shortie said defensively. "Maybe we've turned over a new leaf."

There was a long silence. After a while, Oscar said, "Ya'll are gonna spray again, aren't ya?"

"Yup." The three Shorties answered casually.

"Uh huh, thought so." Oscar said. "Well, I'm gonna go now. I'll see ya'll later…"

"Wait!" The blue Shortie said. "We've gotta tell you something!"

"Well what is it?" Oscar asked.

"Did you know that Rueben and Angie were going out?" The yellow and white Shortie said.

Before Oscar could say anything, the brown Shortie said, "Yeah! We saw them kissing in an alleyway!"

"It was nasty!" The three concluded.

Oscar's eyes widened. "Ya'll are joking, right?"

"Well, we were joking about the kissing part, but not the going out part." The brown Shortie said. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Hey, don't ya'll have to go make Mr. Sykes puff up?" Oscar said quickly.

"Yeah! Let's go!" One of the Shorties said, swimming off.

Oscar watched as the Shorties swam off. After shaking his head, he swam back to his penthouse.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam into Lamont's office. He had gotten a call from him about his next job. With any luck, it was probably another drink delivery job, but he wasn't going to be delivering any drinks.

"Hey there rookie."

Lenny turned around and saw nobody other than Tex and Ace. Instead of answering them, Lenny ignored them.

"Aww, you ain't scared of us, are ya?" Ace asked in a taunting voice.

"Yeah! You big scaredy baby shark!" Tex said stupidly. "You're scared of some swordfish! You wear pampers and drink from bottles and call for your mama…"

"Shut up Tex." Ace said with a frown. He turned back to Lenny and said, "You know, when someone says 'hey there', you expect them to say a greeting back. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"Leave me alone." Lenny said. "I don't have time to be playing with you."

"You wanna play with us?" Tex said. "Sorry dude, but we don't play. We're on duty most of the time."

Lenny and Ace stared at Tex with weird looks on their faces.

"What?" Tex asked.

"Anyways," Ace said, "you're in trouble."

"Yeah, Lamont found out about how you broke Carlotta's heart." Tex said.

"I didn't break her heart." Lenny said.

"That's not what Lamont heard." Ace said. "Carlotta told him about how you broke her heart, and Lamont always listens to his daughter."

'_Why me?' _Lenny thought. _'Why does all the bad stuff happen to me?'_

"You know what Lamont does to sharks that hurt his daughter?" Ace said with a taunting smile while circling Lenny.

"I'd suggest you stop circling me." Lenny growled.

"What're you gonna do? Punch us?" Tex said. He began to laugh until Lenny gave him his special death glare. Tex hid behind Ace like a sissy coward.

"Get away from me!" Ace said, swimming away from Tex. He then turned his attention back to Lenny. "Like I said, you wanna know what Lamont does to sharks that hurt his daughter? Let's just put it this way: the last shark that hurt Carlotta isn't here to tell the tale."

"Nice story." Lenny said sarcastically. "You got any others?"

"I wouldn't be saying anything smart to me. In fact, I'd be begging for forgiveness right now." Ace said. "The reason why that last shark isn't here is because Lamont made me take him out."

"Hey, I took him out too!" Tex whined.

"Shut up Tex!" Ace growled. He turned to Lenny again and smiled evilly. "And since you broke the heart of Lamont's 'bundle of joy', he'll make me take you out too. And when I have to kill you… I won't hold back on anything. So, have you got any last words?"

"Yeah, it's actually a question though." Lenny said. "Was your mother smoking or drinking when she had you? Or did you get your stupidity from your pop's side of the family?"

"I don't think his mom was drinking or anything, I think he gets it from his dad's side of the family." Tex piped up. "But of course, I could be wrong."

"Shut up Tex!" Ace shouted.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks so." Lenny said with a smirk.

Ace growled. He thought of hurtful remarks to say, but nothing came into his head. Finally, he remembered what he had read in the newspaper about the guy who had killed Ronnie and the guy that had killed Markie. He and the other guys knew that Lenny was the one who had killed Markie, and they also knew the reason why. With a malevolent grin, Markie said, "That's why your girlfriend died."

Lenny's smirk was replaced with a look of pure hatred. "Shut up." He said with a dangerous growl.

Ace smirked evilly. He knew he had touched a nerve. "What's wrong, Lenny?" He said in a taunting voice. "Were you really attached to her?"

"I said shut up." Lenny said in a dangerous tone.

"Now when did she die again?" Ace said. "I think it was on her birthday. Was it on her birthday, Tex?"

"Yeah, that's what it said." Tex replied before hiding behind something to avoid Lenny's death glare.

"Yeah, it must've been her birthday, 'cause I remember Lenny holding a present when we found him." Ace said. "Now, I wonder how she died… oh yeah! Some guy killed her!"

Lenny looked like he was about to slice Ace's throat any second. Actually… if Ace kept talking, Lenny would slice his throat.

"I wonder how that guy was able to kill her… oh yeah!" Ace said. "You just sat by and watched instead of helping her!"

It was a good thing that Lamont had swum into the room, because Lenny was about to rip Ace to shreds.

"Tex, stop hiding behind that thing." Lamont said. He looked at Lenny and Ace. "I hope that nothing bad happened while I was gone."

"Oh no, me and Lenny were getting along just fine." Ace lied.

"Good." Lamont said. "Now, I've called you here on account of my daughter. I heard that you broke her heart yesterday."

"I didn't break her heart!" Lenny shouted.

"You callin' my daughter a liar?" Lamont growled with a dangerous look in his eye.

'_That's not all I'm calling her.' _Lenny thought, but he was smart and said, "No sir."

"I thought so." Lamont said. "Now, whenever a shark hurts Carlotta, they don't get away with it. Do you know what I do to sharks that break her heart?"

"I've heard." Lenny said.

"Then you know what I usually do to them, right?" Lamont said.

"Yup." Lenny said nonchalantly.

"That's yes sir." Lamont growled. "Now let's try this again: 'Then you know what I usually do to them, right'?"

"Yes sir." Lenny said in an annoyed tone. "So, what's gonna happen to me?"

"That's better." Lamont said. "And as for what's gonna happen to you; you're about to find out."

Ace grinned as he waited for what Lamont was about to say. _'I'm finally gonna get that guy back for what he said.'_

"Luckily for you, Carlotta is a sharkess of forgiveness. She told me not to kill you like I would usually do." Lamont said.

"What?" Ace shouted.

"Are you questioning me?" Lamont asked with a growl.

Ace looked down at the floor and said angrily, "No sir."

"I thought so." Lamont said. He turned back to Lenny and continued what he was saying. "Instead of killing you, she told me to give you a job. Lenny, you have to deliver a message."

'_Wow, a message.' _Lenny thought. _'Like I've never done that before.'_

"You see, there's this guy who owes me money. He was given a deadline, and he failed to give me the money on time. I was generous and gave him a few extra days, but he took my generosity for granted. You have to tell him that he has ten minutes to give me the money, or else."

"All right." Lenny said. "So what's the guy's name?"

"His full name is Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee… Scotty Scott Scott…) but he goes by the name of Mr. Scott. Here's where he lives." Lamont handed Lenny a sheet of paper with an address on it.

"Kelp land hotel, room twenty-five." Lenny read.

"You've got the right address then." Lamont said. "You'll go over to his house at eight' o'clock, when he and his family will be eating dinner. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Lenny said, nodding his head.

"Good." Lamont said, swimming out the door. "You're dismissed; I've got other businesses to attend to."

Ace made sure that Lamont was gone before hissing to Lenny, "You're lucky that Carlotta likes you. I had something special for you."

"Yeah, well I've got something special for you too." Lenny said.

Before Ace knew it, Lenny had pulled back a fist and punched him in the face.

_Scene Change_

Rueben knocked on Angie's door. He was taking her out to the movies tonight. He had asked her out yesterday, and was surprised when she said yes.

"I'll be there in a minute!" Angie said from inside her apartment.

Rueben began to look around and made sure that he had everything.

"Hey there, Rueben."

Rueben turned around and saw Angie floating in her doorway.

"Oh, hi Ang!" Rueben said. "Ready for a night of fun-filled… uh… fun?"

"You make it sound like we're going dancing or something." Angie said with a smile.

"Maybe we are." Rueben said with a smile. "I never told you where we were going."

"Yes you did." Angie said. "We're going to the movies."

Rueben coughed. "Er, yeah, right. Uh… I got you somethin'." Rueben pulled a green sea flower from behind him and handed it to Angie. "For you."

"Aww, thanks Rube!" Angie said. "That was sweet of you."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" Rueben said. "I'm a sweet guy."

"So, are we going to the movies?" Angie asked.

"Oh yeah!" Rueben said. "Uh… let's go!"

So, Rueben and Angie swam to the movies, unaware of the things that would happen…

_Scene Change_

"…and so after Lamont left, I punched him in the face!"

"Ha! You did that! Ha, ha, ha!"

Lenny was at the Tipsy Tug Tavern telling C.J. about what had happened in Lamont's office. Rhea was also listening, laughing along with C.J.

"It's about time somebody punched Ace in the face!" Rhea said. "You haven't been here that long, Lenny, but if you had been, you'd know that just because Ace is one of Lamont's personal henchmen, he thinks he can boss people around."

"I believe that." Lenny said with a small chuckle.

"But hey man, you said that you mad at Ace for sayin' stuff to you, right?" C.J. asked.

"Yeah." Lenny said.

"So, what did he say?" C.J. asked.

Lenny's expression changed the moment C.J. had asked him that question.

"So, what did he say?" C.J. asked again.

"He was making fun of me because Ronnie died." Lenny said.

"Who's Ronnie?" Rhea asked.

"She was my… my…" Lenny tried to think of a word and failed, so he stopped his sentence right there. Rhea knew what he was trying to say.

"Oh." Rhea said, nodding her head.

"Who was she?" C.J. asked.

"You can be so stupid sometimes." Rhea said.

C.J. thought about Rhea's words, and after a while, knew what Lenny was trying to say. "Ohhh… now I get it."

Rhea rolled her eyes. She noticed that Lenny was looking sad, and tried to think of something that would cheer him up. Then, she noticed an Anglerfish that was getting off the stage…

"Hey Lenny, did you know that Fridays and Saturdays are karaoke night?"

"No." Lenny said.

"Well, now that you know… you wanna go up there and sing somethin'?" Rhea asked.

"Why don't you go up there and sing something?" Lenny asked.

"Yeah right!" C.J. snorted, causing Rhea to glare at him. "Lenny, the day Rhea goes up there and sings something will be the day I see you singing 'Wait the Whisper Song'."

"What makes you think I won't sing that?" Lenny questioned.

Rhea and C.J. gave Lenny weird and surprised looks. "You're going to sing that?" They both asked.

"No!" Lenny said.

"Okay then." C.J. said. "Like I said, the day you sing 'Wait the Whisper Song'."

"Well, you're about to eat your words, 'cause I'm gonna sing a song right now!" Rhea said. She swam up to the stage and grabbed the microphone.

"Twenty says she backs out." C.J. whispered to Lenny.

"Twenty-five says she doesn't." Lenny whispered back.

"Five clams more for something I know you'll lose?" C.J. said in an excited voice. "You've got yourself a deal!" He said with a smile as he and Lenny shook fins.

Meanwhile, up on stage, the music began to play, and Rhea grabbed the microphone. The tempo began out nice and slow…

**Y'know, every now and then  
I think you might like to here something from us  
Nice and easy  
But there's just one thing  
You see, we never do nothing  
Nice and easy  
We always do it nice and rough  
So we're gonna take the beginning of this song  
And do it easy  
Then we're gonna do the finish rough  
This is the way we do proud Mary  
**

C.J., Lenny, and the other hit guys listened as Rhea talked out the first part. Then they listened in fascination as she began to sing.

**And we're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river  
Listen to the story  
**

C.J. and the other hit guys were wondering what Rhea was trying to sing, but Lenny knew exactly what song she was doing.

**I left a good job in the city  
Working for the man every night and day  
And I never lost one minute of sleeping  
Worrying 'bout the way things might have been  
Big wheel keep on turning  
Proud Mary keep on burning  
And we're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river  
**

Suddenly, the tempo began to pick up the pace and Rhea's singing became better.

**Left a good job in the city  
Workin' for the man every night and day  
And I never lost one minute of sleepin'  
Worryin' 'bout the way things might've been  
Big wheel keep on turnin' (turning)  
Proud Mary keep on burnin'**

Everybody's mouth dropped open. Nobody knew that Rhea could hit high notes… heck! Nobody knew that she could sing at all!

**And we're rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river  
Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river  
**

Lenny watched C.J. as C.J. watched Rhea sing on the stage. _'Maybe this karaoke thing isn't so bad after all…' _Lenny thought with a smirk.

**Now if you come down to the river  
I bet you gonna find some people who live  
You don't have to worry if you got no money  
People on the river are happy to give  
Big wheel keep on turnin' (turning)  
Proud Mary keep on burnin'  
And we're rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river  
Rollin', rollin', rollin', on the river**

**(Proud Mary by Tina Turner)**

The music died down and the tavern erupted in cheers. Ronnie smiled and took a dramatic bow.

"Thank you, thank you, you're too kind." Rhea said as she swam back over to Lenny and C.J. "No autographs, please."

"Wow, Rhea… you were great!" C.J. said. "I never knew that you could sing!"

"Thanks for the compliment." Rhea said. "I told you that you would eat your words."

"He sure did." Lenny said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go up there…" Lenny began to swam to the stage, but before he got up there, he looked at C.J. and said, "Oh yeah, and you owe me twenty-five clams."

Rhea glared at C.J. "You made a bet on me?"

"Uh…" C.J. said while trying to think of something to say.

Meanwhile, Lenny was up on stage and was beginning to sing as the sound of guitars started to play…

**One, two, three take my hand and come with me  
Because you look so fine**

**And I really wanna make you mine  
I say you look so fine  
That I really wanna make you mine**

Everybody listened to Lenny's singing. He was actually good.

**Oh, four, five, six c'mon and get your kicks  
Now you don't need no money  
When ya look like that, do ya honey?**

**Big black boots  
Long brown hair  
She's so sweet with her  
Get back stare**

Even though C.J. didn't really like rock'n'roll, he liked the choice of song Lenny had picked. He was singing about a girl without the song being a mushy romance song.

**Well I could see  
You home with me  
But you were with another man, yeah!  
I know we ain't got  
Much to say  
Before I let you get away, yeah!  
I said are you gonna be my girl?**

"The rookie has nice taste in rock'n'roll." A killer whale whispered to his friend.

**Well, so one, two, three take my hand and come with me  
Because you look so fine  
And I really wanna make you mine  
I say you look so fine   
And I really wanna make you mine  
Oh, four, five, six c'mon and get your kicks  
Now you don't need that money  
With a face like that, do ya?**

Lenny paused as the song did with a smile on his face. He was enjoying this.

**Big black boots  
Long brown hair  
She's so sweet with that  
Jet back stare  
Well I could see  
You home with me  
But you were with another man, yeah!  
I know we ain't got  
Much to say  
Before I let you get away, yeah!  
I said are you gonna be my girl?**

**Oh yeah. Oh yeah. C'mon!  
I could see  
You home with me  
But you were with another man, yeah!  
I know we ain't got  
Much to say  
Before I let you get away, yeah!  
Uh, be my girl  
Be my girl  
Are you gonna be my girl? Yeah!**

**(Are you gonna be my girl by Jet)**

The crowd applauded as Lenny swam off the stage. "I'm good, aren't I? C'mon, tell the truth." Lenny said when he got to where Rhea and C.J. were sitting.

"Nice choice of song." Rhea said. "Didn't know you were a rock'n'roll fan."

"You were all right." C.J. said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you do any better." Lenny said while crossing his fins.

"Really? Well guess what? I'm gonna sing somethin' too!" C.J. said as he swam up to the stage. Everybody listened (well, everybody except for this drunken dude) as C.J. began to sing…

**Hey Timbo (Yeah?)  
Don't you hate it when a dude starts actin' up  
Like this fella over here with his hands on the scuff  
Be muggin' and carryin' on  
Hey JT (Yeah?)  
Why these dudes keep starin' at us?  
I dunnow but I'm about to find out wassup  
Hey easy, don't take it too rough  
Talk to 'em**

Rhea and Lenny rolled their eyes. How did they know that C.J. would sing a song like this? Actually, they didn't expect him to sing this… they thought that he was going to sing 'Get Back…'

**I'm not being cocky  
I just noticed that she was looking at me  
Chill homeboy, be cool  
Cause there ain't no reason  
For all that fussin' at me  
It's just getting' started  
And there's a lot of fish around here  
Just shakin' they jelly  
I ain't tryin' to be rude dude  
But we tryin' to tear up the place, come on**

Lenny blinked. He felt like he should know this song somehow.

**There ain't nothin' to it  
If you wanna get down then we can do it-do it  
There ain't nothin' to it  
Get out that seat (Why?)  
You ain't glued to it  
Be easy and watch that- tone  
Keep steppin' with your new suede shoes- on  
Boys and girls lets all sing along  
Now everybody just get on the good foot  
(Oh, Oh) Get on the good foot…  
(Good Foot by Justin Timberlake. It's in the Shark Tale Soundtrack)**

Everybody cheered. They didn't cheer as much as they did with Rhea and Lenny, but at least they cheered. Unfortunately, C.J. noticed this.

"Hey," C.J. whined, "How come they ain't cheering like they did with you two?"

"Maybe they don't like you." Lenny suggested.

"Or maybe they didn't like the song." Rhea added.

"It must've been the song." C.J. said. "Aww… I knew I should've sung 'Roll out…'"

"Roll out?" Lenny asked.

"I like that song." C.J. said, shrugging and taking a sip from his drink.

"You have to pay for that drink you know." Rhea said casually.

"What?" C.J. said. "Why? You never made me pay for it before!"

"That was before you made a bet on me." Rhea replied.

"But… but… Lenny made the bet too!" C.J. said, looking at Lenny.

"Yeah, but he didn't buy a drink." Rhea pointed out.

"Ha, ha." Lenny said.

"Don't you have a message to deliver right now?" C.J. asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nope." Lenny said with a smirk. "I don't have to be over there until another hour."

"Grrrr…" C.J. growled.

_Scene Change_

Angie was sitting down at in her seat, waiting for Rueben to come back. Just as she and Rueben sat down, he realized that he had forgotten the popcorn.

'_That's Rueben…' _Angie thought.

"I'm back with the popcorn!" Rueben said, swimming over and sitting in his seat. "Thanks for saving my seat, Ang."

"No prob." Angie said. "Now, c'mon! The movie's starting!"

The lights went out and the sounds of shushing filled the movie, along with the regular voice-over telling the fish to turn off their cell phones. (Doesn't it just tick you off when somebody leaves their phones on at a movie? Put it on vibrate you idiots! I can't believe… author goes off on rant) The movie that was playing today was 'Death Creek'. Just as soon as the beginning credits were rolling, Rueben remembered something.

"Ang!" Rueben whispered. "I've gotta ask you something! Do you…?"

"Shhh!" Angie shushed, grabbing a finful of popcorn. "The movie's starting!"

Rueben's ears went down in disappointment, but came up again when he remembered that he could always ask her later. Plus, he had the chance of finding out Angie's response to his question without him asking it; they were at a scary movie after all. The movie came to the part where the little girl was pulled underwater by the monster, and the mother was looking for her child. The mom called out for her daughter, but she didn't answer. Finally, it dawned on the mom that the girl went into the creek. She thought she was safe when she put her foot in the water… but the monster had pulled her underwater! Angie and the other fish jumped at the sound of the mother's screams. Rueben saw this as his chance, so he put his fin around Angie. (That's right guys… no yawning and pretending to stretch, just putting his fin around her.)

'_What the… is that Rueben's fin around me?' _Angie thought. She was about to tell Rueben to take his fin off her, but something held her back; the fact that she liked it!

'_She's not doing anything…' _Rueben thought disappointedly. With a mental sigh, he took his fin from around her.

Now, the movie was coming to the part when some certain detective rookie found out about the strange things that were happening. He and the other detective went down to the creek to investigate… when all of a sudden the monster jumped out of the creek and ripped the detective rookie to shreds!

Angie and Rueben had both reached for the popcorn, and their fins touched. (Saw this coming?) They both looked at each other and blushed, but did not look away. Their faces got closer and closer until…

**Everybody freeze!**

A large fish carrying a gun busted into the movie theater. He began to shoot everyone and everything in sight. Panicking fish fled for their life, and the police came into the theater to try and get the gun-fish under control.

"Angie, c'mon! The cops are here!" Rueben said. He and Angie were hiding under the seats. Angie nodded her head and mouthed, 'Let's go!"

Rueben and Angie quickly headed for the door, almost making it out okay, but one gunshot changed all that.

**Bang!**

The gun-fish fired his gun, hitting Rueben in the side.

"Arrgh!" Rueben cried out in pain.

"Rueben! No!" Angie said, rushing over to his side.

At this moment, the police had gotten the gun-fish under control. They had handcuffed him and some of the police were taking him in the police car, while some of them were rushing over to Rueben.

"Somebody get a medic!" A police dolphin said.

"Ang… it hurts…" Rueben groaned.

"Don't worry; the cops are getting a medic." Angie said. "You think you'll be okay until then?"

"Aww c'mon." Rueben said with a small smile. "It takes more than a bullet to keep me down." He tried to get up, but felt a pain in his side and fell back down.

"I'd stay down if I were you." Angie said sympathetically. "You've gotta keep your strength."

"All right." Rueben said. He was going to say more, but a wave of dizziness overcame him. _'Is it me, or is the room spinning…?' _Rueben blacked out shortly after that.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam into the apartment he and C.J. shared. He had to get the address to the apartment of Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee…) and he had forgotten his bandanna. When he opened the door to his and C.J.'s room, he was surprised to see…

"Carlotta!"

"Did you miss me?" Carlotta asked.

"But… how'd…" Lenny began, but Carlotta cut him off.

"I thought I already told you. My father's the leader of the hit sharks; I can get into any apartment."

"Oh yeah." Lenny said. "So what're you doing here?" He added briskly.

"Hey, I saved your life! You could've been killed by Ace and Tex." Carlotta said. "So… do I get a thank you?"

"Not really." Lenny said, crossing his fins.

"Give me a thank you." Carlotta said angrily.

"No." Lenny said.

Carlotta began to scowl, but her frown turned into a smile when she said, "No matter. I guess I'll just tell me daddy about how a certain mean old shark broke my heart again…"

"What?" Lenny shouted. "That's not fair!"

"You think I care?" Carlotta said in a bratty voice. "My dad will never listen to you, he only cares about his 'little angel's' problems! And as long as he's your boss and I'm his daughter, you either do as I say or I'll make you get in trouble. Now say thanks… or should I go tell daddy about how you 'tore my poor heart in half'?"

Lenny growled. He wanted to slap Carlotta so badly… but he wouldn't because of one thing he had always learned: _'Never hit girls.' _"Thank you." He forced out.

"I knew you'd see things my way." Carlotta said with a grin. She was going to leave when she saw something on Lenny's nightstand. "Ooh, what's this?"

Lenny watched as Carlotta swam over to his nightstand and picked up   
Ronnie's birthday present.

"Did you get this for me?" Carlotta asked, shaking the present.

"Like I'd ever get anything for you." Lenny scoffed.

"I'd watch my tone." Carlotta said. She shook the present again. "Hmm, can't hear anything. I guess I'll just have to open it…" She reached a fin off to peel back the wrapping when…

"Don't do that!" Lenny shouted as he smacked Carlotta's fin off the present and placed it back on the nightstand.

"What? Why, I never!" Carlotta huffed angrily.

"Yeah, and you never will! Now get out!" Lenny shot back.

"Are you telling me to leave?" Carlotta said with narrowed eyes.

Lenny opened the door. "Here's the door." He said with a grin.

Carlotta swam over to the door and stopped in the doorway. "You're gonna regret this, Lenny! Trust me, you're gonna wish you never did this!"

Lenny said, "Whatever." And closed the door in her face. He felt good, but also knew that Carlotta would live up to her word.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam through the hotel, looking for the room he was supposed to stop at. He had been surprised when he saw the inside of the hotel; golden walls and red carpet floors. How the hotel looked didn't surprise him; he had seen plenty of hotels like these, maybe even better. It was the neighborhood it was in that surprised him. The hotel was placed right in the middle of a ghetto neighborhood, all of it filled with drug dealers, crack addicts, and worst of all, hit sharks. The only place that wasn't a broke down apartment was the hotel… well, the hotel and some restaurants around it.

Lenny came to a stop in front of a door and glanced down at the paper he held in his fin. _'Room twenty-seven… well, here I am.' _He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

'_I wonder who this Scotty Scott Scott _(tee hee) _character is.' _Lenny thought.

"Hello?"

Lenny turned around and looked for Scotty Scott Scott, (tee hee) but all he saw was a little barracuda girl with a red ribbon.

"Um… hi there, little girl." Lenny said. "I'm looking for a guy by the name of Scotty… er, Mr. Scott."

"Oh, that's my dad!" The barracuda girl said in an innocent voice. She could only be about four or five years old.

"That's nice." Lenny said with a smile. "So… is he home?"

"Why do you want to know?" The barracuda girl questioned.

"Because I'm supposed to talk to him… its part of my job." Lenny said.

"My dad said that he doesn't want any door-to-door sales fish coming to his door." The barracuda girl said.

"I'm not a door-to-doo sales fish." Lenny laughed.

"You promise?" Asked the barracuda girl.

"I promise," Lenny said with a smile, holding up a fin, "scout's honor."

"Okay then!" The barracuda girl said with a smile. She motioned for Lenny to follow her. "Come on in!"

Lenny followed the barracuda girl into the living room. Her family had a nice place; much nicer than any other hotel room he had ever seen. There was a living room, a kitchen and dining room, two bedrooms, and a pull-out sofa for guests. There was also a terrace, just in case you wanted to get some fresh… uh, water.

"So, what's your name?" The barracuda girl asked curiously.

"My name's Lenny." Lenny answered.

"Oh." The barracuda girl said. After a while she said, "My name's Ashley."

"That's a nice name." Lenny said.

"Thanks." Ashley said. She paused a minute before asking, "Are you a robber?"

"No." Lenny laughed.

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked.

"Yes." Lenny replied.

"Okay." Ashley said.

"So… where's your mom and pops?" Lenny asked, looking around the building.

"My mom's in the kitchen, lemme get her." Ashley said. "Mom!" She shouted. "Lenny is here to see dad!"

"Lenny?" A sharkess's voice came the kitchen. "Is he your new imaginary friend?"

"Nope!" Ashley shouted with a smile. "He's right here in the living room!"

The sharkess swam into the living room and saw Lenny. She sighed and shook her head. "Ashley, what have I told you about talking to strangers? Now, you're bringing them into this room!"

"He's not a stranger, mom." Ashley said. "He's here to see daddy! He said that it's for his job."

"What job…?" Ashley's mom began, but stopped when she saw the bandanna around Lenny's neck. Her eyes widened and she swam over to Lenny. "Please, I know that my husband has been behind on his payments, but _please_, give him more time." She begged.

Lenny gave Ashley's mom a weird look. Why was she begging him like this?

"Honey, who was at the door?" A voice came from the kitchen.

"It's one of Lamont's boys." Ashley's mom said, her eyes not leaving Lenny.

Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee) swam into the living room. His reaction was the same as his wife's. His eyes became wide and a look of fear flashed across his face.

"I'm here with a message for Mr. Scott." Lenny said.

Mr. Scott swam up to Lenny. "Yes?" He said in a shaky voice. He knew all too well what Lamont's messages were like.

"Uh… Lamont said that he wanted his money, and that he better get it in ten minutes, or else." Lenny said.

Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee) gulped. "Or else what?" He asked, bracing himself as if something bad was going to happen.

"I don't know. That's all he said." Lenny said with a shrug.

"You mean… that's it?" Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee) asked in a relieved tone.

"Yup." Lenny said.

"Oh, thank you Mr.…. what did you say your name was?" Mr. Scott asked.

"Lenny." Lenny replied. "No mister, just Lenny."

"Well, thank you Lenny." Mr. Scott said with a smile. "Would you like to sit down with us to dinner?"

"No thanks, I've gotta get back." Lenny said with a smile. "Well, see ya later!"

"Bye Lenny!" Ashley said, waving her tiny fins. (Aww.)

"Bye." Lenny said with a smile, swimming out the door. He swam out the hotel and headed for Lamont's office, thinking that he had done his job, but had no idea that something was about to happen…

_Scene Change_

**Beep… beep… beep…**

"Ugh… where am I?"

"Ah, Mr. Rueben, I see that you have woken up."

Rueben looked around and was surprised to see himself in a hospital room, lying in a clean bed with white sheets. Right beside him, was Dr. Finn.

"Wha…?" Rueben said in a confused tone.

"Let me straiten a few things up for you." Dr. Finn said. "You were shot by a gun fish."

'_I remember that part.' _Rueben thought, clutching at his bandaged side.

"So, after that, you blacked out and the cops rushed you to the medical room. Here, we patched up your side." Dr. Finn said.

"Wow." Rueben said. "So, how long have I been out?"

"Not too long, only thirty-five minutes." Dr. Finn said. "You had a very concerned lady waiting for you the whole time."

"You mean Angie?" Rueben said, sitting up in her bed. "She's here? Ooh, can I see her?"

"Not tonight." Dr. Finn said. "You can't see her until tomorrow… you need your rest. Now, you go to sleep, and don't try and sneak out of bed, you hear me?"

"Yes." Rueben said with a frown, lying back down on his bed.

"Great. Now good night." Dr. Finn said, turning off Rueben's light and closing the door. He swam into the room where Angie was waiting.

"So doctor, is he gonna be okay?" Angie asked in a concerned tone.

"No." Dr. Finn said. "Unfortunately, when he was shot, he lost a lot of blood. If he doesn't get a blood transplant (is this the right word?) from somebody with his blood type, he'll die."

Angie's eyes widened in horror. "But… how can he get a transfusion? We don't know anyone with his same blood type!"

"That's the problem; neither do we. And not many fish here know their blood type either." Dr. Finn said. "Even worse, the person with the same blood type had better show up in three days. If nobody comes up in three days… Rueben will die."

"Did you tell Rueben this?" Angie asked in a small voice.

"No. I didn't want him to be depressed." Dr. Finn said, shaking his head.

"Oh. Thank you doctor." Angie said softly, swimming out the emergency room.

Tears rolled down Angie's face. She couldn't believe that her friend could die and only had three days to live. She tried to push the thought out of her head, but it kept coming back. Finally, she decided that she would try to be optimistic, at least for Rueben's sake. Especially since Rueben would find out about this tomorrow; she had heard Dr. Finn talking to other doctors about telling him on her way out. It seemed like nothing was going right, and nothing ever would go right.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam into Lamont's office. He ignored the harsh glare of Ace as he sat down in the chair in front of Lamont's desk.

"So…" Lamont said, turning around in his chair and putting his cigar in his ash tray. "You gave him the message?"

"Yes sir." Lenny said, nodding his head. "I did everything you told me to do."

"Oh really? Then how come I don't have the money?" Lamont said.

"Huh?" Lenny said in a confused voice.

"How did you deliver the message?" Lamont asked.

"Well, I politely told him that you wanted the money, and he said that he'd get the money." Lenny said.

"What?" Lamont growled. "You don't 'politely' tell anyone anything! You _demand _that they give you what you want in my messages, and if they don't listen, you either beat them up or take the thing they love the most!"

"But I can't do that!" Lenny said.

"You can if you want to make it through this job!" Lamont shouted. "I'm sending you back to Scotty's house, and I'm making C.J. come with you! Tex!"

Tex scrambled up to Lamont's attention. "Y-yes sir?"

"Go get C.J. Tell him that he's wanted in my office." Lamont growled. Tex nodded his head and dashed out the door in search of C.J. "And you." Lamont continued, looking at Lenny. "This time, no screw-ups. You got that?"

Lenny nodded his head and looked down at the floor. This time, he had to deliver the REAL message.

_Scene Change_

Lenny and C.J. swam up to Mr. Scott's door.

"Is this the place?" C.J. asked.

Lenny nodded his head sadly and looked down. C.J. sighed; he knew why Lenny was sad.

"Look, Lenny." C.J. said seriously. "You're a hit shark. In this job, you only have to rough the guy up. In other jobs, you have to kill people, no matter who they are or how old they are."

"I know." Lenny said with a sigh.

"Listen; don't listen to your conscience. Only focus on what you have to do." C.J. said.

"All right." Lenny said as he knocked on the door.

This time, instead of Ashley, Mr. Scott answered the door.

"Hey," Mr. Scott said with a smile, "It's our friend from last time… Arrgh!"

Lenny had punched Mr. Scott in the face, sending him crashing into the couch. Ashley and her mom had heard Mr. Scott yell, and came to see what happened. They only watched as Mr. Scott lay on the couch motionless. Lenny had punched his eye pretty hard. C.J. watched all of this from the doorway. When Lenny had looked at him, C.J. nodded his head, telling Lenny to go on.

Lenny swam over to Mr. Scott and got into his face. "Lamont said that he wants his money, and he wants the money _now_." Lenny said in a much firmer tone. He reached back to punch his face when…

"Lenny?"

Lenny turned around and saw that he had an audience. Ashley was watching him beat up her dad with tears in her eyes and a scared look on her face. Lenny put his fin down and backed away from the couch.

"Lenny! What're you doing?" C.J. whispered from the doorway. "Finish the job!"

Lenny looked at C.J. and glanced back at Ashley. With a determined look on his face, he swam over to the kitchen and grabbed the ketchup. He squirted some of it on his fins and swam over to Mr. Scott. He rubbed the ketchup over Mr. Scott's nose, making it look like he had a bloody nose.

"Huh?" Mr. Scott said in a confused tone.

Lenny swam over to Ashley and her mom. "Listen to me." He said in a clear voice. "You can't stay here for long. As soon as you can, tonight would be the best time, find another place to live. You can find a place to live in a city not too far away from here. There's a ship that should be for sale. If the ship isn't for sale, look for a place in Southside Reef City. Lamont and his boys should never find you there."

Ashley's mom nodded her head. "We'll pack now. Thank you Mr. Lenny. You're a saint."

Ashley hugged Lenny and said, "Thanks for not hurting daddy."

"No prob." Lenny said with a smile. "Now remember what I said!" He added as he swam towards the door.

"All right!" Ashley's mom said. "We will!"

"Hey, Lenny!"

Lenny turned around and saw Mr. Scott swimming towards him. "Thanks." Mr. Scott said. "You know, for not taking me out. You're a lifesaver."

"Aww, I'm not a lifesaver. I'm just a good person." Lenny said, swimming out the door.

C.J. closed the door and caught up to Lenny, who was floating halfway down the hall.

"You know that Lamont's gonna have your gills when he finds out about this, right?" C.J. said.

"Yeah." Lenny said. "But you won't tell, will you?"

C.J. looked at Lenny for a while before saying, "No, I won't. Now let's get back before Lamont will hate you even more."

So, Lenny and C.J. swam back to Lamont's ship, not knowing that a certain sharkess had followed them and was going to tell what Lenny did…

_Scene Change_

Lenny and C.J. swam into Lamont's ship. The first thing Lenny noticed was the furious look on Lamont's face, backed up by the smug grin on Ace's.

"C.J., I want you to wait outside. Make sure that nobody comes in here." Lamont said.

C.J. nodded his head and swam out the door. By the angry look on Lamont's face, C.J. knew that Lamont must've found out about what Lenny did… he just didn't know how.

Inside of the office, Lenny was confronting a very angry Lamont.

"I told you to do the job right! You're supposed to listen to what I say!" Lamont yelled angrily. "You didn't follow directions, so guess what happens now? Boys!"

Ace and Tex pinned Lenny up against a cabinet and began to attack him. Tex didn't really do anything bad, but Ace was getting all the hits he could get. He punched Lenny in the nose the hardest, almost breaking it. When he punched Lenny in the eye, it didn't turn black; it turned a purplish-red. Ace made sure that both of Lenny's eyes had purplish-red rings around them, and made sure that he stabbed Lenny a few times with his sharp nose as well as punch his mouth. After five minutes of this abuse, Lenny was relieved to hear Lamont say,

"Boys, that's enough."

Ace and Tex backed off Lenny, making him slump nearly lifeless against the cabinet.

"Now you know, I could've let them kill you." Lamont growled. "But I didn't because of one thing; Carlotta saved your life again."

'_So that's how Lamont found out about what I did so quickly!' _Lenny thought angrily, but he was too tired to say anything.

"This time, to make up for what you've done, you are to take her on a date to the fancy restaurant on Sandy Avenue. If I hear from Carlotta that one thing went wrong, I'll go and kill you. You got that?" Lamont threatened.

Lenny was too tired to say anything and his mouth hurt if he tried to open it, so he just nodded his head.

"I don't know why she keeps saving you." Lamont snarled. "Now get out of my sight."

Lenny limped out the door, holding his shoulder and closing the door behind him. C.J. saw him coming out and said,

"Whoa! What the heck happened to you?" C.J. almost shouted.

"Tex and Ace." Was all Lenny could get out.

"Lamont got Tex and Ace on you?" C.J. said. "Dang, that was harsh. But… how'd he find out about what you did so fast?"

"Carlotta." Lenny was able to gasp out.

"You mean that girl followed us and ratted you out!" C.J. said angrily. "You know, sometimes I just wanna…" C.J. punched a fin into his other fin. "Like that."

Lenny smiled, but his mouth hurt when he did.

"Ooh home boy, we've gotta get you home." C.J. said. He put his fin around Lenny to help him swim straight. "Now c'mon."

Ten minutes later, (it had taken longer than usual because Lenny was hurt) Lenny and C.J. were home.

"You know," C.J. said once he and Lenny were sitting on the couch, "usually, Lamont kills the guys who put a fin wrong. How come he didn't take you out? In my eyes, it seems like you got off easy."

"Easy?" Lenny said in a tired voice. "Yeah right! I've gotta take Lamont's little 'bundle of joy' out on a date!"

"Ooh." C.J. said, wincing. "That's worse than the death penalty!"

"I know." Lenny said. "And worst of all, if Carlotta says that I put a fin wrong, she can call up her dad! And we all know what's gonna happen after that."

"Dang. I'd hate to be in your place." C.J. commented.

"I bet you would." Lenny said. "I'm going to bed now… night."

"Night." C.J. said, still watching T.V.

Lenny swam down into his room and floated onto his bed. He wasn't killed, but to him, anything was better than going out with Carlotta. Little did he know, however, that he would run into an old friend… as well as a huge problem…

_TBC…_

_Lenny has to go on a date with Carlotta? Rueben might die? Oscar is feeling some jealousy? What's gonna happen next? Will Rueben get his blood? Will Carlotta think of more evil tricks? And who's the friend that Lenny will find in the next chappie? Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie!_

_Wow, this chappie was LONG… it's twenty-one pages on 'Word. The longest chappie I've ever written…_

_R&R pleez!_

****


	19. Surprise Endings

_Aqua Aussie: Can't… talk… too… tired… (Collapses)_

_Lenny: The author is too tired to talk right now. Why? Because she's had to run around her school two times and she's been drooling over boys in her school._

_Aqua Aussie: (Glares) shut up or I won't put what I was thinking of putting in this chappie._

_Lenny: (Gasp) you mean… you were thinking of putting…_

_Aqua Aussie: That's right._

_Lenny: ALL RIGHT! _

_Aqua Aussie: But I'll only put it in if you don't give out anymore info._

_Lenny: I'll shut up now._

_Now it's time for my usual shout-outs! BTW, this chappie is dedicated to the following people:_

_**The Crouching Tiger Shark  
Lav'O'Dolphin  
MononokeShojo  
Insane Pirate Dragon  
BritishRose**_

_Now here come the shout-outs!_

**Insane Pirate Dragon: You thought things were bad enough? The bad things happening before are nothing compared to what might happen in a later chappie. Yeah, poor Lenny… he has to go on a date with Carlotta. I wonder if this gives anyone any ideas…?**

**The Crouching Tiger Shark: No! Not your baby! I feel sorry if the gun-fish ever crosses your path… Yeah, poor Lenny has to go on a date with Carlotta… it sure won't be a peaceful night. So… you think you know who's behind the shooting, huh? You might be right… but I'm not so sure… you might want to look at everyone who might want to hurt Rube for some reason… oh, thanx for the Reuben spell check. Glad to know that you loved the song choice I picked for Lenny… that song is cool… wait… (Reads the end of The Crouching Tiger Shark's review) You're a lost fan? (Hallelujah chorus starts playing) There is a God! (Returns hug) Yay!**

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Ha, glad to see that you've got a sense of humor… some people I know would've cussed me out if I put their name like that… but you do know that I'll be calling you Scotty from now on, right? As for when Lenny goes berserk and kills Lamont and his gang, it depends on how dark my mood is.**

_Just as a warning, there'll be dirty minded humor during the date scene. That being said… Lenny?  
Lenny: On wit da story! _

**Chapter Nineteen: Shocking Surprises**

Angie slowly opened the door to Reuben's room. Visiting hours were open, and you can bet that she was going to visit her friend. She was expecting to see Reuben eating oatmeal without a care in the world, but was surprised to hear silent sobs.

"Reuben?"

Reuben quickly wiped the tears from his eyes and pasted on a fake smile.

"Oh, hi Ang. Didn't see you come in."

"Why were you crying?" Angie asked.

"I wasn't crying." Reuben lied. "Something just got in my eye."

"Rube, I heard you before I came in." Angie said with her fins crossed. "Plus, your eyes are red."

Reuben's fake smile turned into a frown. "That obvious, huh?"

"Yup." Angie said, sitting next to Reuben on his bed. "Now tell me what's wrong."

"The doctor says that if I don't get a blood donation, I won't be able to live for long. I've only got three days time, and the chances are low of me getting a donator because not many fish know their blood type." Reuben said sadly.

"I know. The doctor told me yesterday." Angie said.

"I don't wanna die, Ang." Reuben blurted out suddenly, tears threatening to go down his face. "I like it here. I've got friends and family that'll miss me if I pass away. I wanna be able to live my dream as becoming a keyboardist and I haven't been able to ask you my question yet…"

"Question? What question?" Angie asked.

"Oh!" Reuben exclaimed, surprised that he had blurted that out. "I… uh… well… there was this question I wanted to ask you last night… but I never got around to it…"

"I'm listening." Angie said, motioning for Reuben to go on.

"When I first tried to ask you, you shushed me because the movie was starting." Reuben continued.

"I remember that." Angie said.

"Then, I got another chance to ask you, but I wasn't sure if I should ask you or not because you might've still have feelings for Oscar…" Reuben saw Angie put on a look when he mentioned Oscar's name, so he added jokingly, "That and because I'm a wimp."

Angie laughed and said, "Can't argue with that."

"But now since I might not have the chance to ever tell you, I've gotta ask you now." Reuben said. "Ang, I wanted to know if… uh… lemme write it down…" He reached for the paper and squid-ink pen that just happened to be on his nightstand. He scribbled something down and handed it to Angie.

Angie turned the paper around (Reuben had handed it to her upside-down) and began to read it. She was surprised to see what it said:

_You wanna go steady? You know… like going out to places and stuff?_

Angie looked up from the note and stared at Reuben with a surprised look on her face. She couldn't believe that Reuben had written that! Reuben avoided her eyes and looked down at his bed sheets, blushing in embarrassment.

"I'd understand if you answered no… I wasn't really expecting a yes or anything but…" Reuben wasn't able to finish what he was going to say, because he was cut off by a kiss.

Angie's kiss.

Reuben was too shocked to kiss back, but the two stayed like that until…

"Ahem!"

Dr. Finn was floating in the doorway, blushing because he hadn't meant to catch Angie and Reuben in a situation like this. "You know… if you're in the middle of something, I can always come back later…"

"Uh… no! It's all right!" Angie said, breaking the kiss and trying to compose herself. "Now uh… what were you going to say?"

Dr. Finn stared at the couple suspiciously for a while before saying, "Well, I'm afraid I've got some bad news concerning your blood problem."

'_Oh no.' _Reuben thought. _'I hope nothing poisonous got into my blood.'_

"Remember how I said that you only had three days to live?" Dr. Finn said, waiting for Reuben to nod his head for continuing. "Well, unfortunately, our information was wrong. You only have one day to live; and that day is this one."

Reuben stared at Dr. Finn with horror sketched all over his face. "You mean… this is my last day…?"

Dr. Finn nodded his head sadly. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm sorry, Reuben." Dr. Finn swam out the room to go check on his other patients.

Reuben stared at the doorway Dr. Finn had just went through, and then stared at Angie. Angie noticed the sad look in his eyes.

"You might wanna forget what I wrote on that sheet of paper." Reuben said sadly, tears welling up in his eyes. "There's no chance of that happening now."

"Rube…"

"Excuse me miss, but you've gotta go now. We've gotta find out if we can help Reuben live."

Angie looked at the nurse in the doorway and nodded her head. "I'll be right out." She waited for the nurse to go and told Reuben, "I'll come back as soon as I can. Don't get too depressed, all right?"

Reuben nodded his head and managed a small smile.

"Okay then. I guess I'll see you later." Angie said with a smile. "Bye." With those words, Angie swam off to work, hoping that she wouldn't be late and that Reuben would be okay.

_Scene Change_

"You can't get out of here Lenny."

"Oh yes I can. Just watch me."

Lenny was trying to find a way to get out the city. He was thinking about when to leave, but C.J. was trying to tell him that he couldn't go.

"No, you can't." C.J. said. "You know what'll happen if you leave the city! Lamont and his gang will hunt you down and kill you!"

"They've gotta catch me to do that." Lenny said.

"Huh?" C.J. said in a confused tone.

"Everyone always told me that I was fast." Lenny replied. "And if everyone was right about me being fast, then I shouldn't be caught."

"Okay, so they may not be able to catch you if you swim away," C.J. said, "But they'll _find _you and continue to hunt you down until they're sure that you're gone! You'll have to keep swimming for the rest of your life."

Lenny's eyes widened in realization. Sure, he could probably escape, but he'd have to keep swimming for the rest of his life… and he was tired of swimming away.

"Why do you have to have a point?" Lenny sighed. "Now it's no doubt that I have to go on that date with Carlotta!"

"Aw, c'mon, it can't be that bad… oh snap, who am I kidding!" C.J. said. "I'd hate to be in your fins right now."

"Thanks for the comfort." Lenny mumbled sarcastically.

"Sorry." C.J. said. "But still, you've gotta admit, you're in a tough spot right now."

"Yeah." Lenny said. "And I can't try to escape at the date either; Carlotta will have a phone on her you can bet that she'll be wearing that poison lipstick."

"Too bad we don't have access to her purse, 'cause that's where she keeps her phone and lipstick." C.J. said.

After C.J. said that, Lenny was struck by an idea. "That's it!"

"What's it?" C.J. questioned.

"We'll take Carlotta's phone and lipstick from her purse and put replacements in it so she won't notice!" Lenny explained. "It's simple, really! All we have to do…"

"Oh, let me finish that for you." C.J. said. "All we have to do is sneak into Carlotta's room without getting caught and take her stuff. Hopefully, when we have to get out the ship, nobody will notice us and try to rip off our heads." C.J. shook his head. "It's not gonna work Lenny."

"Well, you don't have to go in, but I am." Lenny said, swimming out the door. "I'll be back in thirty minutes or so."

"You're crazy man!" C.J. shouted out the door. "But I've gotta admit; you've got guts."

"Thanks." Lenny replied with a smile. He swam out the apartment and headed for Lamont's ship…

_Scene Change_

Lenny slowly opened the door and swam in. He was careful to close the door when he was inside, and tried to keep it from squeaking. He was in Lamont's ship. He was going to take some things from Carlotta's purse and replace them with two small rocks he had found along the way. If anybody caught him doing this, he would be in a lot of trouble… but he wasn't thinking about that right now. He was too busy trying to find where Carlotta's room was.

Peeking his head from around the corner, Lenny saw that the coast was clear and swam through the hallway. He may not have known where Carlotta's room exactly was, but he did know that it had to be down a hallway. After all, he did live on a cruise ship before.

'_You know, it would be really great if her room was to just pop out at me…' _Lenny thought. Something must've heard his thoughts, because right in front of him was a door with the name 'Carlotta' on it. He put his ear to the door and listened; nobody was in there.

'_Yes!' _Lenny thought as he opened the door. As soon as he was in Carlotta's room, he took a look around. Everything was pink. _'Her canopy bed, her walls, her floor, her purse… her purse!' _

Carlotta's purse was sitting on top of her vanity (which was also pink.) Lenny swam over to the nightstand and opened Carlotta's purse. Inside of it were five clams (which Lenny stole) Carlotta's phone and, of course, her poison lipstick. Lenny took the lipstick and cell phone and replaced it with the two rocks he had found. As long as Carlotta didn't open the purse, she wouldn't notice anything different; with the rocks in the purse, it weighed the same.

'_Mission accomplished.' _Lenny thought as he swam out the room. _'Now all I have to do is get back to the apartment and wait until the date.'_

Lenny was halfway down the hall when he suddenly bumped into somebody.

"Ahhh!" He shouted.

"Shhh! It's me!"

Lenny looked up and saw C.J. staring at him. "C.J.? Jeez, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Almost everything gives you a heart attack." C.J. pointed out.

"What're you doing here?" Lenny asked.

"I thought that you might need some help." C.J. said. "So, I came down here. And it looks like you need some help."

"What do ya mean?" Lenny asked. "I was able to get the lipstick and cell phone without getting caught."

"Yeah, but where are you gonna hide it?" C.J. asked.

Lenny looked down at the two stolen goods in his fins. "I don't know."

"C'mon. I know where you can put them." C.J. said, motioning for Lenny to follow him. Lenny followed him, and ended up in… the kitchen?

"What're we doing here?" Lenny asked.

"We're gonna hide the stuff under this counter." C.J. replied. "Hardly anybody eats in this kitchen anymore, so they might not bother to look under this counter. So, all you've gotta do is place those things under the counter. I'll be waiting outside; you know, to see if anyone is coming." C.J. swam outside to keep watch.

Inside the kitchen, Lenny placed the two things under the counter and felt something else. _'It feels like paper…' _Lenny pulled the unknown object out and was surprised to see a sports magazine. _'I didn't know Lamont was into sports.' _He opened up the magazine and was surprised to see that the inside wasn't about sports; Lamont had put the sports cover on the front. It was really a Playboy magazine! Lenny stared at the thing for a while, and C.J. came in to see what was taking him so long.

"Lenny! What…" C.J. began, but stopped when he saw Lenny with the magazine. He put on a sly smirk and said, "Lenny, I didn't know you were hot-blooded."

Lenny blushed and began to stutter. "But… I… I didn't know…"

"Yeah, yeah." C.J. said in a non-believing tone. "That's what they all say. Now c'mon! Lamont might be back in any minute!"

So, Lenny and C.J. swam out Lamont's ship, and Lenny waited until the date to see if his plan had worked.

_Scene Change_

Oscar sadly looked through one of his first photo albums. It had all of the pictures with him and Reuben in it. He smiled sadly when he got to the picture with their kindergarten class. Why was he going through the pictures at that moment? Well, Oscar knew that Reuben had been shot. How he knew that Reuben had been shot, however, was a mystery. The shooting wasn't shown on the news, and even if it was, Oscar wasn't watching the news. But then again, everybody was talking about the shooting at the Whale Wash, and Oscar could've been down there while they were talking about it.

Unfortunately, Oscar wasn't down there while they were talking.

Oscar stopped flipping through the pages of his album (it brought back too many memories) and sat down on his couch. He began to watch the news, but was too sad to sit through the morning weather forecast. Then, he did something he hadn't done in a ling time.

He cried.

'_Stop crying!' _A voice in his head told him. _'I don't know what you're so sad about. You know that it's your fault this happened!'_

Oscar stopped crying and wiped the tears from his face. The voice in his head was right. It was his fault that Reuben was shot.

But for some reason, even though he was still sad, a thought of determination passed through Oscar's mind.

'_It may be my fault that Reuben's in the hospital right now, but I can still help him out.' _

_Scene Change_

"Uh… Angie? You okay?"

Angie looked up from her desk and saw Hugo the whale floating outside the receptionist office.

"Oh, yeah. I'm all right." Angie said unconvincingly.

Even though he wasn't convinced, Hugo didn't mention it anymore and said, "Oh. Well, I'll like a wash with extra soap please."

"Would you like a wax with that? We have a special edition one all week." Angie said.

"What does it do?" Hugo asked.

"It makes you smell like sea berries instead of… well, wax." Angie replied. "But it'll be an extra five clams."

"Eh, why not?" Hugo said. "Maybe the wax will help me get a girlfriend this time."

Angie laughed and said, "Right this way for your wash."

Hugo paid Angie and swam through the wash thingy. Everything was doing fine; the graffiti was completely erased from his body, his tongue was scrubbed with clean brushes; yep, everything was all right; until Hugo got to the wax.

You see, it happened like this; the turtles had completely waxed Hugo, and he did smell like a sea berry… unfortunately, he was colored like a sea berry too.

"Ahhh! I'm purple!" Hugo shouted.

Everybody stopped working to look at the purple whale.

"It's okay, calm down!" A fish said, but Hugo wasn't listening.

"Calm down? How can I calm down when I look like Barney the dinosaur?" Hugo shouted.

"What's going on here?"

Everybody watched as Sykes swam down from his office, with Ernie and Bernie not too far behind.

"Well, for some reason, the new wax made Hugo turn purple." A tongue scrubber said casually. "And now he's shouting about how he looks like Barney."

"Barney?" Sykes said in a confused tone.

"He's that dinosaur that everybody makes mean songs about." Ernie said.

"Yeah, you want us to teach you how they go?" Bernie asked.

"No! Right now we have to find out why the wax turned the guy purple!" Sykes said.

"Oh yeah." Ernie and Bernie said. After a long silence, Bernie said, "Wait, the wax turned Hugo purple?"

Angie let out a sigh of frustration and said, "I'll go find out what's wrong with the wax." She went to where the wax came from, took off the top, and looked inside.

"There's grape jelly inside here!" She shouted.

"Grape jelly?" Everybody said at once.

"Yeah, and by the looks of it, it'll be hard to get out." Angie said.

"Who in their right mind would put jelly near the wax storage?" Sykes said angrily.

"Well, you see, I was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich…" Ernie began.

"You poured the jelly in there?" Sykes shouted.

"It wasn't my fault! Bernie startled me and made me spill the jelly!" Ernie said.

"Hey, I didn't make you do anything!" Bernie protested. "It's not my fault you're such a scaredy baby!"

Sykes sighed and rubbed his head. "I don't know why I keep you two around."

"Ooh, I know why!" Ernie said. "It's because we help you find your happy place!"

"Right now, my happy place is far away from you two." Sykes said. He turned to Hugo and put on an apologetic smile. "Sorry 'bout this, Hugo. We'll get the purple off you right away and plus, we'll give you a twenty percent off coupon."

"Good. I don't want to swim around like this." Hugo said.

Everyone went back to work as if nothing had happened.

_Scene Change_

Nine' o'clock.

Reuben was sitting in his bed, looking at the clock next to him. In another hour, he would be dead. He would've enjoyed his last hour on Earth if Angie was with him; but she couldn't be. For some reason, the doctors said that she couldn't see him, which made both Angie and Reuben very sad.

'_Oh well. At least I got to tell her everything…' _But his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in!" He shouted.

Dr. Finn came into the room with a huge smile on his face. "Reuben, I have good news. We've found a blood donor for you."

"Really!" Reuben almost shouted in joy. "Who?"

"I can't say. The fish told us not to tell you." Dr. Finn said. "However, we took a blood test, and the fish's blood type is the same as yours."

"So, you mean… I'm not gonna die?" Reuben asked.

"Yep, that's exactly what I mean." Dr. Finn said with a smile. "You'll be in the blood transfusion room in about ten minutes." Dr. Finn swam out the door to get everything ready.

Reuben shouted "Yes!" and would've done a victory dance if he had the strength. _'Oh boy, won't Angie be surprised when I show up to work tomorrow!'_

But, even though he was happy, Reuben couldn't help but wonder who gave him the blood donation.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam into Lamont's office. This was the time when he had to take Carlotta to that fancy restaurant.

"I see that you came." Lamont said to Lenny, who nodded his head. "Carlotta's still getting ready. Before you two go, lemme just get things straight again. If I get a call from Carlotta saying that you're not cooperating, I'll come over there and personally take care of the problem. You got that?"

"Yes sir." Lenny said.

"Daddy? Can we go now?" A whiny voice said from the doorway.

Lenny turned around and saw Carlotta in a blue dress. _'So this is what that song meant when it said the devil with a blue dress on.'_

"Of course you guys can go sweetheart." Lamont said in the sweet voice he only used on Carlotta.

"Thanks daddy! Buy!" Carlotta took Lenny's fin and pulled him out Lamont's office.

"Now, remember what my daddy said." Carlotta said once they were outside. "I've got my purse right here, and do you know what's in my purse?"

"No." Lenny lied.

"I'll tell you then. I keep my cell phone in here, and I'll use it to call my daddy if you try to escape or don't cooperate." Carlotta said. "Don't think I won't call him."

"Oh, I believe that you'll call him." Lenny said with a smile.

Carlotta narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, just that I believe you'll call your pops if you have to." Lenny said with a shrug. _'Too bad you won't be able to.' _He added in his mind.

_Scene Change_

Lenny and Carlotta had made it to the restaurant. They swam inside and met one of the waiters.

"Table for two please." Carlotta said with a smile.

The waiter looked at the two a glanced at the list he was holding. "Ah yes, Miss Carlotta and her date."

"Her date has a name you know." Lenny growled.

"Oh really?" The waiter said in a mocking voice. "What is it then?"

"Lenny."

The waiter looked like he had gotten a bomb dropped on his house. "Lenny?" He gulped.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Lenny said with a smile. He knew why the waiter was kind of afraid of him. You see, the sea creatures this far out had heard that Lino had a bloodthirsty son… they just didn't know what the son's name was. So, since the waiter didn't know who the son actually was…

"Oh, well please forgive me sir!" The waiter stuttered. "I'll show you two to your table now. Right this way…"

Lenny and Carlotta followed the waiter to a table and sat down across from each other.

"Here are your menus." The waiter said, handing the two their menus. "Another waiter will be here to take your order in five minutes." He added as he swam off to meet the next couple that was coming through the door.

"Don't we have to pay for our food?" Lenny said. "I don't have any money."

"We don't have to pay for anything. My father got us in for free." Carlotta said.

"Oh." Lenny said quickly as he went back to reading his menu.

Carlotta noticed how Lenny was trying to avoid her as much as possible and an idea quickly formed in her mind. "Lenny…" She said in a sugary sweet voice, "Why don't you sit by me?"

"No thanks." Lenny said without looking up from his menu.

"Okay, let me rephrase that." Carlotta said. "Sit by me or I'll go over to that phone over there and call my father."

"There's a phone here?" Lenny asked in shock. _'I took her phone for nothing!'_

"Of course there is! All restaurants have phones." Carlotta said. "Now, are you gonna get over here, or will I have to give you some… persuasion?"

Lenny growled and sat by Carlotta. Shortly after that, he felt something on his fin…

"Why are you holding my fin?" Lenny asked.

"You got a problem with that?" Carlotta said, the threat to call her father in the tone she used.

Lenny sighed angrily and said, "No."

"Good." Carlotta said with a smile. "So… what're you gonna order?"

Lenny just scowled and looked at his menu.

"I'm gonna order the shrimp scampi." Carlotta said, ignoring the fact that Lenny was ignoring her.

Once again, Lenny said nothing.

"Well, somebody is being anti-social." Carlotta said. She thought for a few seconds and added with a smile, "But I bet I can change all that…"

Lenny was about to say something when he felt a slight tickling feeling on his fin. Then, the tickling feeling moved from across his fin to his stomach, and down from his stomach to his-

"Whoa!" Lenny shouted, jumping up from the table and moving back to his old spot across from Carlotta. "You don't have a peace treaty to make with the general and his private!"

"Who said I wanted a peace treaty?" Carlotta asked. "I just wanted some…"

"Okay! Don't finish that sentence!" Lenny said quickly. "I don't know why you're trying anything anyway? I bet you're not even tall or old enough to ride the rides at the state fair!"

"I can too ride the rides at the fair!" Carlotta said. "Especially the roller coasters…" She added a bit suggestively.

'_What have I gotten myself into?' _"Well, you must be this tall to ride this roller coaster (Lenny held up his fin higher than Carlotta's height) and you are not this tall."

"I can grow." Carlotta said with a smirk. "And I'll probably that tall in another year or so. And since there's a chance that you'll be here next year, you know what that means…"

"Uh… no." Lenny said. "Nice try, but no."

"I'm calling my father." Carlotta threatened, reaching into her purse.

"You do that." Lenny said with a small smile. "Go ahead; I don't care."

Carlotta reached into her purse and pulled out a rock that Lenny had put in there. "What the…" She said angrily. She looked up at a smirking Lenny and pointed to him. "You! You have something to do with this, don't you?"

"Now how could I have done something like that?" Lenny said innocently, the smirk still on his face.

"Where's my cell phone? And more importantly, where's my lipstick?" Carlotta asked heatedly.

"I'm not telling you." Lenny said. "Next time, check your purse before going out with me." He waited a minute before saying, "Oh yeah, I stole five clams from you too."

"That's it! I'll use the phone down the hallway!" Carlotta said, swimming over to the phone.

'_Now's my chance! She's not watching me, so I can swim away!' _Lenny thought. Looking over at Carlotta to make sure she wasn't watching him, Lenny snuck out the restaurant and swam away. Unfortunately, he had swum past a window…

'_Hey! He's swimming away!' _Carlotta dialed her dad's number faster than she usually would. As soon as she heard him pick up, she said, "Hello, daddy? Lenny's swimming away from me… yeah, he's going down deeper into the projects. Thank you." Carlotta hung up the phone and smiled evilly. Her father had two boys of his hiding around the restaurant to check on them. The two guys were following Lenny as she floated there. _'Meanwhile, I think I'll go see what they'll do to him…' _Carlotta swam out the restaurant and followed Lamont's boys.

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was going, but as long as it wasn't anywhere near Lamont's ship, he was all right.

'_Hey, I've never seen this part of the city before…' _Lenny thought, but he wouldn't be able to stop and look at the sights.

"Hey, there he is!"

"Let's get him!"

Lenny looked back and saw the outline of two killer whales swimming after him. Lenny swam through the maze of empty streets in order to get away from the two hit whales, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, Lenny seemed to have lost the two, but knew that he had to hide somewhere. He swam into a dark alley… and bumped into someone there.

"Oh, sorry about that. I should've watched where I was going…" Lenny was going to say more, but stopped. His eyes widened. There, in front of him, was the last person he ever expected to see.

"Ronnie?"

_TBC…_

_Gasp! Lenny has seen Ronnie? And Oscar feels like it's his fault that Reuben was shot? Hmm, I wonder why. Will the two whales capture Lenny? Will Oscar ever tell the truth? Only one way to find out, and that's to stick around for the next chappie!_

_R&R pleez!_


	20. Mysteries and kidnappings

_Author's Note: Yeah! I'm back in business baby! I'm back with another chappie to my story… and this one's gonna be good… But now, for my shout-outs!_

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Yeah, she's alive… and I bet you did know it… but I bet you aren't gonna be ready for what's in this chappie… (Reads the end of the review) Lol that would be funny… Carlotta and Ronnie fighting over their man... and Lenny trying to break them up…**

**Lav'O'Dolphin- Lol, glad to know that you'll live through it… Scotty. (Mwahaha.) Unnecessary thievery is funny… to tell you the truth that originally wasn't supposed to be in that chappie; it hit me at the last moment. Yes, Lenny did have some funny lines in the last chappie, especially the 'peace treaty' comment. I've got plenty of lines like that… but I think that one is the most original… **

_Okay, so in the last chappie, Lenny found out that Ronnie was alive and Reuben got his blood. How did Ronnie survive, who gave Reuben his blood, and to add up to the mysteries, the question that everyone wants to know: Who was behind the shooting?_

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Twenty: The Mysteries' Answers**

"Ronnie?"

Lenny stared in shock at the sharkess floating in front of him. Her name was Ronnie, and she was dead… well, supposed to be dead. This evil shark named Markie had slashed her with a knife, and when Lenny last saw her, she was dead. He grew angry, killed Markie, and when he heard the sound of police, he fled for his life. As he swam away, he grabbed Ronnie's birthday present and looked back at the city, expecting to never see Ronnie or his friends again… but yet here Ronnie was, in the flesh.

"But… how? You were…?" Lenny began, but he didn't finish his obvious question as the sounds of 'Hey! I think I know where he is!' filled the streets.

"There's no time for questions now. We've gotta get outta here. Now c'mon!" Ronnie said, swimming down the alley.

Lenny was still confused at everything that had just happened, but he had the sense to follow Ronnie down the alley. After all, he was still being chased by Lamont's boys. He had to look for where she was, (the alley had many turns and Ronnie had disappeared from his sight) but he soon caught up to her.

"There you are! You vanished on me for a second…" Lenny began, but stopped when he saw what was in front of him. "It's a dead end."

"I guess we've gotta go the other way then…" Ronnie began, but was stopped by a voice.

"You two ain't goin' nowhere."

Lenny and Ronnie turned around to see two Killer Whales floating a few feet in front of them.

"Thought you could get away huh?" The first Killer Whale said in a malicious voice.

"I always give things a try." Lenny said a bit nervously.

"Well, you won't be trying anything else after this." The second Killer Whale said. Lenny watched in horror as he saw the hit-whale pull out his gun.

"Why do you wanna shoot him? What did he ever to do you?" Ronnie asked, her eyes never leaving the guns.

"It's not what he did to us. It's what he did to Lamont's little bundle of joy, Carlotta." The second Killer Whale replied.

"Who's Carlotta?" Ronnie questioned. "And who's Lamont?"

"Lamont is Carlotta's father." The first Killer Whale answered. "And Carlotta is your friend's date."

"Date!" Ronnie almost shouted in a near angry tone. She looked over at Lenny. "She was your date?"

"I didn't want her to be!" Lenny said in defense.

"Well then why did you go out with her?" Ronnie asked. She paused a moment before adding in a whisper, "You don't feel anything for her, do you?"

"No!" Lenny said. "Of course I don't!"

"Then why'd you go out with her?" Ronnie asked.

"It was either go out with her or die!" Lenny said.

"Oh really?" Ronnie said unbelievingly, crossing her fins. "And just who was going to kill you?"

"That would be us." The second Killer Whale said. "Or maybe some other guy…"

"Hold up! If Lenny went on the date with Carlotta, how come you guys are after him?" Ronnie asked.

The first Killer Whale sighed. "Here's the story. Carlotta was on a date with your friend over here, and he decided to swim off on her."

"So?" Ronnie asked. "That still doesn't explain why you're after him."

"Your friend had orders from Lamont to take his daughter out on a date. If your friend tried anything, Lamont would send us after your friend to bring him back to his office. Then, Lamont would… 'Take care of him'." The first Killer Whale answered.

"But I don't get it. How come you have to listen to Lamont?" Ronnie questioned.

"Because he's the boss of us." The second Killer Whale said. "And we're his hit whales."

"Hit whales?" Ronnie said. "Then, that would make you a…" She trailed off and looked over at Lenny.

"Hit shark," The first Killer Whale finished for her. "That's right; your little pal over here was a hit shark."

Ronnie turned around and looked at Lenny, who was staring at the dead end wall trying to avoid her eyes as much as possible. "Lenny…?" Ronnie said in a near-whisper.

"It's true." Lenny said, not looking at Ronnie.

"But… why?" Ronnie asked. Lenny didn't answer, and even if he did, it wouldn't have mattered.

"The reasons why isn't important right now, nor will it help." The second Killer Whale said. "Your friend is going to be swum back over to Lamont with a bit of… 'friendly' supervision."

"Now let's go…" The first Killer Whale began, but he was cut off by an annoying and whiny voice.

"Lenny! There you are!"

The four turned around and saw another sharkess floating near them.

"Who's she?" Ronnie whispered to Lenny.

"That's Carlotta." Lenny whispered back.

"I should've known that you would swim away from me…" Carlotta began, but stopped when she saw Ronnie. "And just who is this?" She asked, crossing her fins.

"Ronnie." Ronnie said.

"And how is she related to you?" Carlotta asked, her fins still crossed.

"Sh- she's not related to me." Lenny stuttered nervously. "Sh-sh-she's m-my… my…"

"Girlfriend." Ronnie finished up in an annoyed tone.

Carlotta eyed Ronnie for a while. "Humph! I don't know what he sees in you."

Ronnie just smirked and said, "Brains."

"Are you calling me stupid?" Carlotta said angrily.

"Well, maybe, I don't know… yeah." Ronnie said, smirking at the outraged look on Carlotta's face. "Hey, don't be mad at me 'cause I'm telling the truth."

Carlotta's face turned red as she began to stutter angrily. "You know what? I think…"

"Don't try to think, you'll strain your brain." Ronnie said.

Carlotta ignored the comment and finished her sentence. "… you're just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" Ronnie asked.

"Jealous of me, because I've got looks." Carlotta said. "Looks to kill."

"Your looks sure did kill me." Lenny said with a smile. Carlotta ignored the comment with a 'humph.'

"Okay, so you…" Ronnie began.

"Yes." Carlotta said.

"Are accusing me…"

"Uh-huh."

"Of being jealous of you…"

"Exactly."

"Because you're an airhead?" Ronnie finished.

"I'm not an airhead!" Carlotta screamed.

"… Yeah you are." Ronnie said with a smirk.

"No I'm not!" Carlotta shouted. She turned to Lenny. "Lenny, am I an airhead?"

"You want the truth or a lie?" Lenny asked.

"Arrgh!" Carlotta let out a loud sigh of frustration and anger, and grabbed the gun from the second Killer Whale's fin.

"Hey!" The second Killer Whale said in protest. "You can't do that…!"

Carlotta ignored the hit-whale as she pulled the trigger and succeeded in hitting Lenny in the side. Carlotta laughed as she saw Lenny fall down in pain.

"You don't think I'm an airhead anymore, do ya, Lenny?"

Ronnie rushed over to Lenny. He was still breathing, but losing blood quickly. He was conscious, but unaware of the things happening around him. With an angry glare, Ronnie turned towards Carlotta.

The two hit-whales gulped and swam from the scene. They were out of bullets for the gun, and even if they had bullets, they wouldn't try to shoot Ronnie. They both had girlfriends before, and both knew one important piece of knowledge:

Never make an angry sharkess angrier.

Ronnie swam over to Carlotta, who was still laughing. She had just seen Carlotta shoot Lenny, and she was mad… no, mad is an understatement. She was pissed off!

"Stop laughing!" Ronnie growled. "It's not funny!"

Carlotta stopped laughing, but her laughter was replaced with an angry face. "Don't shout at me like that!" Carlotta shouted, as she slapped Ronnie in the face.

Ronnie swam backwards a little. The slap's sting was gone after five seconds, but she wasn't expecting Carlotta to do that. But, a few seconds later, the surprised expression on Ronnie's face was replaced with an angry one… and Carlotta knew that she was in trouble. Ronnie punched Carlotta in the nose, knocking her into the sandy floor. It took Carlotta a few moments to recover from the punch, and when Carlotta recovered, she felt a sharp pain in her nose.

"You broke my nose!" Carlotta wailed. "I can't believe you broke my nose!"

"Yeah, and I'll break much more than your nose if you don't get out of my sight." Ronnie growled threateningly.

Carlotta quickly swam out the alleyway, holding her broken nose.

Ronnie laughed slightly, and turned back to Lenny. _'Now, how am I supposed to get him to the hospital?'_

_Scene Change_

"Okay Mr. Reuben, you can go home now, but make sure that you take it easy, okay?"

"All right, doc."

Reuben had just been released from the hospital. He had gotten his blood yesterday, and just in time too; in a few more hours, he would've died from blood loss. Reuben didn't know who the donator was; for some reason he decided to stay anonymous; but that didn't mean that he couldn't feel thankful.

"Before you leave, here's a list of things you shouldn't do." Dr. Finn said.

Reuben sighed. "There's a list of things I can't do? I thought that everything would be okay once I got my transplant!"

"Well, blood transplants do have its consequences, depending on the situation. You lost more blood than most people would have, so as a result, when you got the transplant, even though you didn't die, you were weakened." Dr. Finn explained.

"That makes sense." Reuben said while nodding his head. "So, I guess this means I'll be off the job for a while."

"Sorry, but you have to take it easy." Dr. Finn said.

"That's all right." Reuben said with a slight smile. "I wasn't looking forward to going back into a whale's mouth anyway."

"Glad you see things that way." Dr. Finn said with a smile. "But I also must warn you, struggling will make you weak, too. If you're ever in a place where you have to struggle…"

"Relax doc." Reuben said in a carefree tone. "What's the chance of me getting into big trouble? I mean, it's not like I'm gonna be kidnapped or anythin'."

"I guess you're right." Dr. Finn said. "But still, be careful, okay? I've already seen you in the hospital this week; I don't wanna have to see you again."

"Thanks doc." Reuben said as he left the hospital. He was glad that he had… a 'second chance at life,' as he called it. But, even though he was glad that he got his blood (I mean, if he was going to live, he sure wasn't going to complain.) he still couldn't help but wonder about who gave him his blood.

'_It couldn't have been Angie. If it was, she wouldn't have been so sad when she heard about the blood transplant.' _Reuben thought. _'It couldn't have been Sykes, Ernie, Bernie, or anybody else at the Whale Wash; they would've told me if they donated blood, and plus, like Dr. Finn said, not many fish know their blood type, so many of them probably don't know their blood type. And it definitely couldn't have been Oscar… but then again…' _Reuben thought for a moment about the possibility that his blood donator could've been Oscar… but he pushed that thought into the back of his mind. _'Yeah right! Like it could've been Oscar. Why would he want to donate blood to me anyway? He's got no reason.' _Shrugging the thought off, Reuben swam to the Whale Wash. He may not have been able to work there, but he could visit a certain Angelfish…

_Scene Change_

Reuben was swimming towards the Whale Wash, a smile on his face. He couldn't wait to see Angie after spending a few days in the hospital; and the fact that Angie didn't know if he was alive or not added to the impending surprise. Reuben's smile grew wider; the Whale Wash was in sight. All he had to do was swim a few more feet…

Reuben heard a noise coming from behind him. He turned around; but saw nothing.

'_Must've been the current.' _Reuben thought with a shrug. So, Reuben swam towards the Whale Wash again…

Reuben turned around once more, only to see that nothing was there. _'Okay, I could've sworn I heard something that time!' _Reuben thought, beginning to look around frantically. _'I felt something too!'_

Reuben turned back in the direction of the Whale wash, telling himself to swim slightly faster… but something grabbed him. Reuben couldn't tell what grabbed him; he was too scared to care. He struggled to get out of his captor's grip, forgetting all about the doctor's advice, and used up all his energy. Even though he was exhausted from all that squirming around, Reuben could remember and think clearly; and the last thing he remembered was a bag being pulled over his head…

_Scene Change_

Oscar ate a bowl of cereal as he watched the morning news show. It was the only thing he could do to keep himself from looking through his photo album. Every time he looked through the album, he always felt depressed… followed by the gnawing pain of guilt. (Yeah, that was corny…) So, to keep from feeling guilty and depressed, Oscar did whatever he could to stay off the topic we all know he's thinking of: His 'Shark Slayer' job. Little did Oscar know, however, that all of that was going to change… and it was all going to change today.

Just as Katie Current was getting into celebrity gossip, Oscar heard a knock at his door. He looked at the clock and saw that it was nine' o'clock.

'_That's the mail fish.' _Oscar thought. _'One of the good things about being famous; you get your mail delivered to your door.'_

Oscar opened the door; he was right, it was the mail fish.

"You've got a special letter today, Mr. Oscar!" The mail fish said in his usual friendly voice.

'_Special? Hmm, I've never gotten 'special' mail before.' _"Thanks kid." Oscar said as he gave the mail fish his tip.

"Good-bye Mr. Oscar!" The mail fish said cheerfully as he swam off to deliver more mail.

'_I like him, but sometimes, he's WAY too happy.' _Oscar though with a smile. The smile was wiped off from his face, however, when he read the letter in his hands.

_Shark slayer,  
we've got your girl and your friend. If you ever want to see them again, come over here in exactly two weeks at nine A.M. Why two weeks? Because I wanna see the look on your face when you know that you had time to think of something this time, but you couldn't do anything. You don't have my son to help you out now. Let's see you get out of this one.  
Lino_

"Ang… Rube…" Oscar said quietly as he placed the letter on the table.

"I see that you've got the letter."

Oscar turned around as he heard a voice coming from behind him. The voice was sensual yet dangerous, a voice that belonged to a fish that Oscar knew all too well.

That voice belonged to Lola.

"Lola." Oscar said angrily. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to make sure you got the message." Lola said.

"Where are my friends?" Oscar asked impatiently.

"Friends? I thought they hated you. Especially the plain-Jane girl…" Lola began.

"Shut-up." Oscar said angrily.

"And her boyfriend." Lola finished.

"Boyfriend?" Oscar asked in a confused tone.

"Don't you know? Your little girlfriend got together with your friend after you did something to make her mad. They went to the movies, and were getting all buddy-buddy." Lola said, swimming towards Oscar. "You wouldn't happen to know about this, would you?"

"Like I'd tell you…" Oscar began, about to say a nasty comment. He stopped, however, when he thought about Lola's words. "Wait… how did you know that my friends went to the movies?"

"I heard them talk about going to the movies." Lola said. "They were having a really good time. Too bad their fun was all ruined…" She added, hinting at something. Oscar got the hint.

"The shooting!" Oscar shouted angrily. "You were behind that!" He paused to think for a moment. "But... how? The police said that the gun fish was a guy!"

"You think I would ruin my fins by touching a gun? I knew that I would get caught!" Lola said. "That's why I hired a gun fish to take care of the job. Sure, he was caught, but he was paid."

"You were behind the shooting!" Oscar shouted.

"Yeah, I know, I just explained that." Lola said nonchalantly, pulling out a mirror to look at her hair.

"Don't you know that you could've killed them! My friend almost died! If somebody hadn't given him that blood donation…"

"Somebody?" Lola said. "Don't you mean you? You're the one who gave him that blood donation."

Oscar stared at Lola for a while before asking, "How did you know?"

"I've been snooping around." Lola said casually.

"Get outta my house." Oscar said angrily.

"All right. I know when to leave." Lola said, swimming out the door. She was almost out the door when she added, "Oh, and don't even try to call the cops. I've made sure that your friends will suffer if you do. Ta." And with that, Lola swam out the door.

'_Aww man. Look at the trouble I've gotten myself into now.' _Oscar thought. _'And now, I've gotten my friends dragged into this too!'_

Oscar had gotten himself into a lot of trouble before, but nothing as big as this. Sure, he may have put his friends in trouble before, but it was never a life or death situation. Now, it was.

'_What am I supposed to do now?' _Oscar thought. _'I've only got two weeks… two weeks that mean nothing!' _Oscar paced as he thought of what to do. All of a sudden, a line from the letter just popped into Oscar's head.

_You don't have my son to help you out now._

"That's it!" Oscar said to himself. "I'll get Lenny!"

'_You can't get Lenny, remember? He couldn't go home because you didn't tell the truth! You don't know where he is, and plus, why would he want to help you? He probably hates you now!' _A voice in Oscar's head said.

'_Yeah, that's true.' _Oscar thought. _'But I can still try.' _

'_Yeah right.' _The voice in Oscar's head said. _'And how're you gonna find out where he is?'_

Oscar knew that the voice in his head was right. He thought for a long time. Just as he was out of ideas, he remembered the time when he told Reuben about the sham.

_Flashback_

"_But you have to tell me!" Reuben said. "If you don't fix this mess, then her new boyfriend Lenny will get her!"_

_That grabbed Oscar's attention. He opened up the door and said, "Lenny?"_

"_Yeah, Lenny!" Reuben said. "Why, d'you know him?"_

_End Flashback_

Oscar drew conclusions from the flashback. "When Reuben planned that 'get back together' date for me and Angie, he had to have put a letter in her mailbox. Angie didn't tell him about the sham, so this means that he had to have found out about Lenny on his own." Oscar said to himself while pacing. "If Angie didn't tell him, and he was putting the invitation in the mailbox… then he must've found out about Lenny in a letter! But if he found out about Lenny in a letter, then that must mean that…" Oscar trailed off as the idea hit him. "Lenny is okay and sent Angie a letter! And Angie always keeps a special letter; especially from friends… all I have to do is knock on her door and…" Oscar trailed off from the thought as he remembered where Angie was. "But Angie isn't at home, so what do I do?" Oscar thought… and thought… and thought, until his brain began to hurt. Finally, he remembered something… something that just happened to be a habit of Angie's.

'_Angie always keeps her terrace door open!' _Oscar thought. _'All I have to do is swim up to her terrace, open the door, and look for the letter! Oscar, you're a genius!'_

'_I wouldn't go that far.' _A voice in his head replied.

Oscar ignored the comment and smiled as he swam out the door. He had a plan to save his friends…

_Scene Change_

Oscar opened Angie's terrace door and swam in her apartment. He thought of telling Angie about locking her door… I mean, anyone could just get in, but he wasn't there to think about security issues. He was there to look for a letter; a letter from Lenny. He searched everywhere; under the couch, in the kitchen, even in Angie's room; but he couldn't find the letter. Oscar sat down and put his fins on the table in front of him.

'_Maybe_ _Angie threw the letter away.' _Oscar thought as he felt his fins touch something that felt like paper… paper!

Oscar took his fins from off the table and looked at the spot where his fins just were. There, on the table, was the letter from Lenny!

'_Here it is! It was on the table all along! I wonder why I didn't notice that before.' _Oscar thought as he began to read. _'Hey Angie, I'm doing fine… okay, I don't need to read this.' _Oscar skipped the rest of the letter and read the p.s. note. _'P.S. The address of where I am is on the back of this letter.' _Oscar turned the letter and looked on the back. It said:

365 ship field, Coral city.

'_So that's where he is!' _Oscar thought. _'All I have to do is look on my computer to find out how to get to this address, and I'll be on my way!' _

So, with cheerful thoughts and an optimistic feeling, Oscar swam home to look up the address on his computer. He took the letter with him, just in case he needed it.

_Scene Change_

_Beep… beep… beep…_

'_Stupid heart monitor… wait… heart monitor?' _

Lenny opened his eyes to see himself sitting in a bed with clean, white sheets.

"¡Lenny¡Usted está despierto!" (Translation: Lenny! You're awake!)

"Ahhh!"

Lenny felt himself being tackled by somebody! He looked up to see that it was… Ronnie! He was trying to say something, but his sides were being squeezed in the 'death grip hug' she was giving him.

"¡Yo le pensé fue hecho para!" Ronnie said, still giving Lenny the 'death grip hug.' (I thought you were done for!)

"Oww! My side!" Lenny shouted in pain.

"Oh!" Ronnie said, realizing that she was squeezing Lenny too hard. She backed away from him with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"That's all right." Lenny said with a smile. "I'm just glad you didn't break my rib…"

"Ha ha, very funny." Ronnie said.

"So… where am I?" Lenny asked. "It feels like I'm in a medical room."

"You are." Ronnie said. "After you were shot, I took you to the medical room, and they had this really nice doctor help you out for free. She said that the gun wound you received wasn't serious; it just grazed your lower side, and even though you lost a lot of blood, you didn't lose too much."

"Well that's a relief. I thought I would have to get stitches." Lenny said.

"Actually… you did have to get stitches." Ronnie said. "And I'm the one who gave them to you."

Lenny smiled. "You sure you weren't born a Nurse Shark?"

"Do I look like a Nurse Shark to you?" Ronnie asked.

Lenny looked at Ronnie. "Gimme five seconds…"

When he took too long in looking, Ronnie said, "Hey Lenny?"

"Hmm?" Lenny said, still looking at Ronnie.

Ronnie thwacked him upside the head. "That's for looking at me like that."

"Oww!" Lenny whined, rubbing his head. "That hurt!"

"It's what you get." Ronnie said with a shrug.

"I thought you liked me." Lenny said with mock sadness.

"Nope." Ronnie said.

"I bet I can change that." Lenny said with a smirk.

Ronnie gasped as she felt herself fall on Lenny. Apparently, he had pulled her onto him. (A/N: Get those perverted thoughts out of your mind, people, it's NOT LIKE THAT!)

"I thought you were supposed to be sick!" Ronnie said.

"I recover quickly." Lenny answered simply, leaning in for a kiss. Needless to say, they were in a mini make-out session. It was cut short when…

"Uhh… am I interrupting something?"

Lenny and Ronnie broke apart to see a barracuda's figure in the doorway, smiling at the couple.

"Because if I am… I can always come back later…"

"Uhh… no!" Ronnie said, regaining her composure. "That's okay! We were just…"

"Making out in the medical room, I know." The barracuda said, chuckling at the blushes on Lenny and Ronnie's faces. "But hey, you guys aren't the first…" The barracuda chuckled some more, lost in her memories, before she finally realized where she was and coughed. "So," She said professionally, looking at Lenny, "How're you doing?"

"Fine." Lenny answered a little too quickly.

"I bet you do feel fine." The doctor said, adding to her amusement.(and Lenny's embarrassment) "So... do you feel sore in any places?"

"Well yeah, I feel pain in my side, but that's where I was shot, so that should be normal, right?" Lenny answered.

"Oh yes, perfectly normal." The doctor said, writing stuff down. "Okay Lenny, you'll have to stay here overnight…"

"Wait!" Lenny said, cutting the doctor off. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I have my ways." The doctor said.

"Okay... but how come you're letting me stay here for free? I didn't even do anything for you!" Lenny said.

"Actually, you did do something for me, you just don't know it." The doctor said with a smile. "A kind act is repaid with a kind act." The doctor swam out the door, leaving puzzling looks on both Ronnie and Lenny's faces.

"Do you know what she's talking about?" Ronnie asked.

"Nope." Lenny said. "So… how'd you live? You know, after the whole 'birthday incident'…"

Ronnie smiled and chuckled slightly. "Should've seen that question coming. I can't exactly tell you how I was able to live… just think of it as my best birthday gift ever, but I can tell you what happened after you disappeared." She was going to say more until she saw the look on Lenny's face. He looked like a little kid listening to a story. "This is gonna be a long story… you might wanna get a snack…"

"Naw, I'm okay." Lenny said. "Now tell the story already!"

Ronnie took a deep breath and began her story. "After being slashed with the knife, I blacked out. I was out cold for a week; Jamel told me that. Even though Ricky had left (Andre told me that he was supposed to be gone) he came back for some reason… and it was a good thing he did! He found me and took me to the hospital…"

_Flashback Story_

_Ricky swam through the outskirts of the city, looking for his sister, Ronnie, and Lenny. He was supposed to take the Passenger Whale back home, but for some reason, he wasn't there. Just as he was swimming towards Ronnie's ship, he smelt blood._

'_Hmm, it must be some poor fish that wandered off…' Ricky thought, but his smelling said differently. It took him a while to realize… 'That's not fish blood…' Ricky turned around and followed his nose, wanting to investigate why the sea smelled the way it did. He wasn't ready for what he was about to see…_

_Ronnie and Markie were bleeding heavily, lying a few feet away from each other on the floor. Neither of them were moving, and Ricky couldn't see any signs of breathing. He didn't care about Markie; Markie could've been burnt to a crisp for all he cared; it was Ronnie he cared about. _

"_This is not happening." Ricky said in an unbelieving whisper. He swam over to Ronnie and observed the bleeding gash in her chest. 'No…' She wasn't breathing and she wasn't showing any signs of starting. Tears began to stream down the big brother's face until he noticed something._

_There was a rock lodged in the middle of Ronnie's gash. Not a small pebble and not a large boulder, but a medium sized rock._

_Ricky didn't know why, but he took the rock out the gash… and heard a small gasp for breath._

"_Yes!" Ricky whispered elatedly. "She's alive!" He would've done a happy dance right then and there if he hadn't suddenly remembered the condition his sister was in. "I've gotta get the meds over here…"_

_Ricky pulled out his cell phone and called the emergency number. Much to his relief, not many people were in the hospital, so they would be over more quickly than usual. Less than five minutes had passed and Ricky heard the sound of ambulance sirens._

'_Thank you medical guys.' Ricky thought._

_The ambulance had taken Ronnie to the emergency room and in a few minutes, the doctor gave Ricky the results._

"_She needs a blood transfusion." The doctor said. "She's lost too much blood, and it's weakened her. Also, she'll need stitches. We can't have her swimming around ripped open. We've got the stitches all figured out, but not the blood transfusion. We don't know anybody who can donate blood."_

"_I can." Ricky said._

"_Mmm-hmm." The doctor said, adjusting the glasses on his nose. "And just how do you know Miss Ronnie?"_

"_I'm her brother." Ricky said._

"_Step-brother?" The doctor questioned._

"_Nope, just regular 'brother.'" Ricky said._

"_I see." The doctor said, pulling out a clipboard. "Well, Mr. Ricky, we have to run some tests. Make sure you don't have any diseases, you know?"_

"_Yeah… but I don't have to get a shot, do I?" Ricky asked._

"_Yes you do." The doctor said._

"_Shoot." Ricky mumbled under his breath. He hated getting shots._

"_But don't worry." The doctor said with a smile. "We'll give you a lollipop when you're done." He added as he swam off._

"_Oh goody." Ricky mumbled, rubbing his arm. He could feel the shot already. _

_Flashback Story Interrupted_

"Would you guys like anything?" A nurse said as she swam into the room. "We've got hot chocolate, ice cream…" She smirked as she added, "Candles…"

"What was that last one?" Lenny asked.

"… Ice cream." The nurse lied.

"I'd like some ice cream right about now." Lenny said. "Strawberry flavored, with sprinkles."

"Me too. Vanilla please…" Ronnie paused before adding, "With extra chocolate sauce."

"Okay, I'll be right back." The nurse said as she swam out the door.

As soon as the nurse left, Ronnie said, "I thought you said you didn't want a snack."

"Well, yeah… but this story sounds long." Lenny replied. "Besides, they have ice cream… and we both have memories with ice cream, don't we?"

"Don't make me hurt you."

"Uhh… I'll just listen to the story now." Lenny said, not wanting to get hit again.

"Good idea." Ronnie said as she resumed her story.

_Flashback Story_

_Ricky swam from behind two white, windowed doors, rubbing his arm and sucking on a lollipop. He had gotten his shot shortly after the doctor told him about it. He was disease free (Ricky grumbled, "I already knew that. They didn't have to give me a shot…") and Ronnie would be getting her blood transfusion in an hour. He swam out the hospital, heading for the hotel he was staying at, and bumped into no one other than Jamel and Andre._

"_Jamel? Andre?" Ricky asked. "What're you doing here?"_

"_What're you doing here?" Jamel asked. _

"_We thought you were leaving tonight!" Andre said._

"_I was leaving tonight… but then something came up." Ricky said, pointing to the band-aid on his arm. "I had to get a shot."_

"_That'll explain the lollipop." Andre said._

"_It comes with the shot!" Ricky said defensively. _

"_Uh-huh." Jamel said. "But why'd you have to get a shot? I mean, it's not like you were due for a check-up, were you?"_

"_I had to donate blood." Ricky said._

"_Why?" Andre asked._

_Ricky sighed and said, "Because Ronnie was slashed with a knife and she lost a lot of blood."_

_Andre and Jamel looked shocked. "Whoa…"_

"_Yeah, whoa." Ricky said. He then remembered something and looked directly at Andre. "Markie's your cousin, right?"_

"_Yeah." Andre answered._

"_Well… I'm sorry to tell you this but…" Ricky took a deep breath before finishing. "Andre, Markie's dead."_

"_Wha…?" Andre said sadly. "How…"_

"_I don't know how. I wasn't there to see anything." Ricky said._

"_You okay man?" Jamel asked Andre._

"_Yeah, I'm all right." Andre said. Sure, Markie was evil and mean and stuff, but he was still his cousin. _

"_So… how's Ronnie doing?" Jamel asked._

"_Fine." Ricky said. "The doctor says that as soon as she gets her blood transfusion, she'll be fine."_

"_Glad to hear that." Andre said with a small smile. He stopped smiling, however, when he noticed something. "Hey… where's Lenny?"_

"_Dunnow." Ricky said. "I didn't see him around."_

"_Probably didn't find out yet." Jamel said, feeling sorry for his friend._

_There was a long silence, but a little kid with a newspaper in his fin broke the silence. _

"_Excuse me mister? Would you like a newspaper?" The kid asked, holding out a newspaper._

"_Eh, sure, why not?" Jamel said, taking the newspaper from the kid's fin and giving him his tip._

"_Thanks mister." The kid said as he swam off._

"_So where d'you think Lenny is?" Ricky asked Andre. Jamel was too busy reading the paper._

"_He's probably checking out that ship." Andre replied. "He planned on getting it after he won the contest money."_

_Ricky and Andre continued their conversation until Jamel said, "You guys, I don't think Lenny's at the ship."_

"_What makes you say that?" Andre asked._

"_See for yourself." Jamel said, handing Andre the newspaper._

"_There was an attack and a murder near the outskirts of town." Andre read. "The attack involved a sharkess, whose name is unknown. The murdered shark's name was Markie Loreto. It seems that Markie attacked Ronnie with a knife; his motivation is unknown. Markie was killed shortly after and the murderer fled the scene before police could get a good look at him. Police officials can only guess why the shark wanted to kill Markie, and came up with this conclusion: The shark killed Markie in self-defense, and fled the scene because he thought the cops wouldn't believe his story of killing him in self-defense. Until detectives and cops can think of anything else, the reasons for everything will be unknown."_

_When Andre was done reading, he looked up with a shocked look on his face. Jamel and Ricky had the same expressions._

"_There was only one shark who could've murdered Markie…" Jamel began._

"… _And that would be Lenny." Andre finished._

"_That's why he's not here. He swam away!" Ricky said._

"_But… he couldn't have murdered Markie… he's the biggest softie I know!" Andre said._

"_At least we know he didn't do it on purpose." Jamel said. "I mean, after all, better he did it by self-defense than on purpose, right?"_

"_Yeah, I guess that's right." Ricky said. After a long silence, he added, "Well, I'm turning in for the night. All this excitement has made me tired." He swam toward the hotel._

"_Come to think of it, I'm sleepy too. Good night Andre." Jamel said, swimming towards his apartment._

_Andre shrugged his shoulders and swam towards his apartment too._

_Flashback Story Interrupted_

"I've got the ice creams!"

Ronnie stopped her story and turned around, as did Lenny. The nurse was back with two bowls of ice cream in her fins.

"One for you…" The nurse gave the strawberry ice cream to Lenny, "And one for you…" She gave the vanilla ice cream to Ronnie.

"Thanks." Lenny and Ronnie said.

"No problem. Just call on me if you need anything." The nurse said cheerfully as she swam out the door.

"Now this… is WAY better… than rum flavored ice cream." Lenny said while eating his ice cream.

"Yeah…" Ronnie said. "Oh, and you've got ice cream on your nose."

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that again." Lenny said.

"Falling for what?" Ronnie asked innocently.

"The last time you told me that, you stole some of my ice cream." Lenny said.

"Why Lenny, do you honestly think that I was trying to steal your ice cream again?" Ronnie asked.

"Yes."

"Well good, because I was." Ronnie said with a smile. She paused before adding, "But can't I just try a little bit…"

"No."

"Fine." Ronnie sighed. "I'll just continue the story…"

_Flashback Story_

_A nurse came into Ronnie's room and opened up the curtains, letting the sunshine light up the room. The nurse then swam out Ronnie's room to open up the other patient's curtains. The sunlight shone on Ronnie's face and made her wake up. She was surprised to see herself in the starched, white sheets, fluffy pillows, and weirdly soft mattress of a medical bed._

'_Great, I'm in the hospital again.' She thought. She didn't think about that for long, though. She was still sleepy and decided to drift back off to sleep… but the sunlight wasn't making her attempt to sleep any easier. So, she put the pillow over her head and began to drift of to sleep…_

"_Rise and shine sleepyhead!" _

_Ronnie immediately woke up to the wake up call she was given._

"_¿Qué demonios¿Por qué permitirán las personas no apenas que mí dormir!" Ronnie shouted in an annoyed tone. (What the hell? Why won't people just let me sleep!) She growled and put her head back under the pillow._

"_Aww, c'mon Ronnie. You know we don't understand Spanish."_

_Ronnie took her head from under the pillow and was surprised to see Jamel and Andre floating in front of her._

"_Jamel? Andre?" Ronnie said in a confused voice._

"_In the flesh." Jamel said with a smile._

"_But… what're you two doing here?" Ronnie questioned in a confused voice. "More importantly, what am I doing here?"_

"_You mean… you don't remember anything that happened a week ago?" Andre asked._

"_A week ago!" Ronnie shouted._

"_Yup, you've been a sleeping beauty for a week." Jamel said._

"_Sleeping beauty?" Andre questioned._

"_I couldn't think of anything better to say." Jamel said with a shrug._

"_I can't believe I've been asleep for a week…" Ronnie said._

"_Aww. C'mere and gimme a hug." Jamel said as he went over and hugged Ronnie, who gave him a weird look._

"_You hugged her?" Andre asked. _

"_It seemed appropriate at the time." Jamel said. "Why, did you want a hug too?"_

_Andre gave Jamel a weird look that matched Ronnie's. "Dude, I told you not to try those free drink samples."_

_Ronnie's eyes widened. "Free drink samples? What the fu…"_

"_OOOkayyyy!" Andre said, stopping Ronnie from saying anything that would make this story R rated. "Yes, you were sleeping for a week, but that wouldn't surprise me; not after what happened to you."_

"_Does this have anything to do with what happened a week ago?" Ronnie asked._

"_Yup." Andre said. "A week ago, you were attacked by Markie and he slashed you with a knife, and luckily, Ricky found you and took you to the hospital…"_

"_Ricky? But I thought he was leaving." Ronnie said._

"_Well, he was, but his ride home was late, and he decided to come back. So, after that…" Andre began, but he was cut off by Jamel._

"_Long story short, Ricky found you, took you to the hospital, you needed a blood transfusion, he gave you the blood, you got the transplant, and we all lived happily ever after." Jamel said._

_Andre glared at Jamel for cutting him off. "That sure did sum everything up." He said sarcastically._

"_Yup." Jamel said._

"_Oh yeah… now I remember being attacked!" Ronnie said. "But… if I was found by Ricky… where is he?"_

"_He's at his hotel, probably still sleeping." Andre replied._

"_Okay… so what about Markie?" Ronnie asked._

"_He was killed." Andre said sadly._

"_Oh, I'm sorry." Ronnie said sincerely. "But… who was he killed by, if you don't mind me asking?"_

_Jamel and Andre looked at each other, not knowing how to answer the question._

"_Well… you see… it goes like this…" Jamel began._

"_We were reading this newspaper…" Andre said._

"_And the evidence the police found…"_

"_If the evidence is true, that is…"_

"_According to the evidence…"_

"_The killer is…"_

"_Lenny." Jamel and Andre finally managed to say._

_Ronnie stared at the two with a blank look on her face. "Wha…?"_

"_It was in self-defense though, so that means that he isn't a blood-thirsty murderer." Jamel said._

"_Oh." Ronnie said in a relieved tone. For a second there, she thought Lenny was a cold-blooded murderer. "So, where's Lenny now?"_

"_That's another thing." Andre said. "After Lenny killed Markie…"_

"_In self-defense." Jamel added._

"…_He thought the cops wouldn't believe his story of self-defense, so he kind of… swam away." Andre finished._

_Ronnie didn't know how to respond to that. There was a long silence, and Ronnie finally said, "Do the cops know which way he went?"_

"_Huh?" Andre said._

"_Whaddya mean?" Jamel asked._

"_As soon as I'm able to swim," Ronnie said, "I'm going to look for him."_

"_I knew you were gonna say that." Jamel said._

"_How'd you know I was gonna say that?" Ronnie asked._

"_Ronnie, I've been here long enough to know that you are crazy about him, and drawing conclusions from that, I know that if Lenny disappeared, you'd wanna find him." Jamel said._

"_Wow… Jamel…" Andre said. "That's gotta be the smartest, most heart warming thing you've ever said."_

"_Yeah, well, you know." Jamel said with a smile. "What can I say?"_

"_Not much." Ronnie said with a smirk._

"_Hey, I just gave you a heart warming talk thingy, and you're just gonna insult me like that?" Jamel asked._

"_Well… yeah." Ronnie replied._

"_You know, just for that, I'll never give you another heart warming talk again." Jamel said._

"_I bet you won't." Ronnie said with a smile. "But seriously… do you know which way he went?"_

"_Well, no." Andre answered._

"_But we know that he wouldn't wanna go back to Reef City." Jamel added._

"_So that means that he would've gone in the opposite direction." Andre finished._

"_So… that must mean that he's in Weed city…" Ronnie said. She thought a while before saying, "I guess that's where I have to go then."_

"_But… but… Ronnie! You can't go there! I mean, Weed city is full of robbers, killers and psychos!" Andre protested._

"_So? I'm a tough girl." Ronnie said._

"_Yeah but… you're going on the possibility that you might die!" Andre said. "In that city, there's a forty-nine thousand out of five thousand and fifty percent chance of death to anyone who goes there!"_

"_Well, those percents are gonna have to change, 'cause I'm going to that city, and I'm not gonna make it there without any difficulty. Maybe other unlucky fish have died there, but not me." Ronnie said. "I've escaped from death twice, and I'll do it again."_

"_You go girl!" Jamel said while clapping his fins. He stopped when he saw Ronnie and Andre giving him weird looks. "Sorry."_

"_Okay…" Andre said. "But still," He added, looking at Ronnie, "You do know the dangers in this situation, right?"_

"_Yeah." Ronnie said. _

"_Okay then, but there's a slight problem." Andre said._

"_What?" Ronnie asked. _

"_Your brother." Andre said. "There's no way he'll let you go over there."_

"_There's no way he'll let me go over there IF he knows where I'm going." Ronnie said._

"_Are you asking us to lie to your brother?" Jamel asked._

"_No, I'm just asking you to cover for me." Ronnie said. "Besides, you guys owe me anyway."_

"_For what?" Jamel and Andre asked._

"_Well, you owe me, Jamel, for that pizza prank." Ronnie said._

"_Oh yeah, I remember that." Jamel said with a sheepish smile._

"_And you, Andre… well, you know what you owe me for." Ronnie said with a smirk. "And it begins with an S."_

"_All right, we'll cover for you!" Andre said. "But I'm not gonna like it."_

" _I am." Jamel said with a grin._

_End Flashback Story_

"So, as soon as I got my energy back, I found a Whale Shark that was bringing some passengers over here and got on. I was able to get here by night. I didn't know where you were, so I began to swim around the city in hopes that I'd see you somewhere. I was swimming down an alley… and that's where you come in." Ronnie concluded.

"So that's how you were able to get over here." Lenny said.

"Sure, that's how I got over here… but how did you get over here?" Ronnie asked.

"Actually… I don't know." Lenny said. "You see, I was swimming around for a long time, and then, Carlotta appeared out of nowhere, and she kind of…" Lenny trailed off.

"Kind of what?" Ronnie asked.

"She kind of kissed me and I passed out." Lenny said. He didn't know it, but he was smiling.

"Are you smiling?" Ronnie said.

"Uh… no!" Lenny said. "I was… remembering a joke that C.J. told me!"

"C.J?" Ronnie questioned. "Who's he?"

"A friend of mine." Lenny answered. "He helped me with my job, and tried not to get me in trouble with Lamont. He couldn't help me out of trouble, though, when those guys were chasing me."

"You just make friends everywhere you go, don't you?" Ronnie said with a smile.

"Yup." Lenny said. "Though not all of them are friendly…"

"I saw that earlier on." Ronnie said.

"Excuse me?"

Ronnie and Lenny turned around to see the doctor floating in the doorway.

"Sorry, but visiting hours are almost over. You guys have one more hour." The doctor said as she closed the door.

"Well… good night I guess." Ronnie said. "I better be going."

"Night." Lenny said.

The doctor popped her head back in the door. "Oh, and no good night kisses in the medical room. Do that when you get home." She swam out the door again.

"How'd she know…?" Lenny began.

"It's kind of hard not to tell." Ronnie said with a smile.

"That's true." Lenny said. "But hold up… if you don't live here… where are you gonna be staying?"

"Hmm… I didn't think of that." Ronnie said. "You got any ideas?"

Lenny thought for a while, before an idea came to his mind. "You got your cell phone on you?"

"Well… yeah. Here it is." Ronnie gave Lenny her cell phone, who quickly dialed up a number.

"Hello, Rhea? Yeah, I'm alive, but I'm in the hospital." Lenny said. "How I got in the hospital is a long story… yeah, I'm all right. But listen… do you think you and C.J. can come over to the hospital? I kind of need a favor…"

_Scene Change_

Rhea and C.J. arrived at the hospital about ten minutes later. They had to get around a few of Lamont's boys and Rhea had to close down the tavern early, ("You can't trust hit-sharks alone in a bar." Rhea said) but they managed to get to the medical room without any trouble.

"A'ight Lenny," C.J. said, swimming into Lenny's room with Rhea, "Why'd you call us over here? I was busy…" He trailed off when he saw Ronnie floating in the room. _'Uh oh, it's time for me to put on the C.J. charm.' _He thought.

Rhea noticed the weird look in C.J.'s eyes and shook her head. _'Oh no, he's gonna put on the 'C.J. charm.'_

C.J. put on a sophisticated look and began to talk in a suave voice. He swam over to Ronnie. "Well, hello there Miss… why, I don't think I've had the pleasure of knowing your name."

"Ronnie." Ronnie replied.

'_Ronnie? Didn't Lenny tell me that she was his…?' _Rhea's eyes grew wide as she remembered what Lenny had told them at the tavern. "C.J.!" She whispered loud enough for only C.J. to hear. "Stop hitting on her! She's…"

"Shhh!" C.J. whispered back. "I think the C.J. charm is working!"

Rhea rolled her eyed. _'Fine. If he wants to embarrass himself, let him.'_

"So… you said your name is Ronnie?" C.J. said suavely. "That's a pretty name to match your pretty eyes."

Ronnie glanced at Lenny with a look that said, _'Is this guy for real?' _Lenny replied with a look that said, _'Yes. Sadly, he is.'_

"Thank you." Ronnie said.

"So… how do you know my friend Lenny over here?" C.J. asked.

"Oh, he's my boyfriend." Ronnie said.

Had there been a record playing, it would've scratched.

"B-boyfriend?" C.J. stuttered.

"Yup." Ronnie said. "And it's been like that for a long time."

C.J. turned towards Lenny with the words 'embarrassed' written all over his face. "So you mean… I've just hit… on your girlfriend?" C.J. said.

"Yup." Lenny said, smirking at his friend's embarrassment. "If you were some other guy, I'd have to hurt you, but since you're my friend, I decided to let you find out for yourself."

"This is embarrassing." C.J. said, covering his face with his fin.

"It sure is." Rhea said with a smirk. "I tried to tell you, but did you listen? Nooo. You just had to use your 'C.J. charm' on the girl."

C.J. ignored the comment as he looked at Ronnie again. "But still… would you have gone out with me if you weren't Lenny's girlfriend?"

Lenny sent C.J. a death glare, which C.J. noticed instantly.

"Not that I'm still tryin' go out with you or anything, it's just that I wanna know because you're pretty…"

Lenny gave C.J. an even fiercer death glare, and C.J. noticed this one too.

"Not that I'm hitting on you or anything, I mean you're already taken and… and…" C.J. sighed as he felt Lenny's death glares burning into him. "I'm gonna shut-up now."

"Good idea." Ronnie said with a smile.

Rhea hid her laughter behind a fin to her mouth. _'Please, somebody give me front row seats for when Lenny kicks C.J.'s tail.' _

C.J. coughed uncomfortably and tried to change the subject. "So uh… what was the favor you needed?"

"Well, I was kind of wondering if you could show Ronnie where the hotel is." Lenny said. "I can't, because I'm currently unable to swim."

"Of course we'll show her where the hotel is." Rhea said, and swam over to Ronnie. "C'mon, I've gotta see if I can show you around before we get to the hotel. The name's Rhea by the way."

"Ronnie." Ronnie replied.

"I've heard." Rhea said. "So, you know about Carlotta's date with Lenny, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I punched her." Ronnie said.

"You punched her?" Rhea said in a surprised tone. "But nobody's ever punched her before!"

"I guess I'm the first." Ronnie said.

"Ya know, I think we're gonna be good friends." Rhea said with a smile as she and Ronnie swam out the door.

"Hey, Lenny?" C.J. asked. "Why're you in the hospital anyway?"

"I was shot." Lenny answered.

"Where were you shot?" C.J. asked.

"The lower side." Lenny said.

"The lower side?" C.J. asked.

Lenny got what C.J. was trying to say, and said, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, that being said, I've gotta ask you a personal question." C.J. said.

"Ask away." Lenny replied.

"No, I mean a REALLY personal question." C.J. said.

"….."

"……."

"….."

"….."

"Oh! You mean, you wanna know if…" Lenny began.

"Yeah." C.J. said.

"Well yeah, I can." Lenny said.

"Oh." C.J. replied.

There was a long and awkward silence.

"So… I guess I'll go show Ronnie to the hotel then…" C.J. said.

"All right, see ya tomorrow." Lenny said.

With those words, C.J. swam out the room, and the nurse popped her in the door once again.

"Hmm, your friends have already left. Oh well, saves me the energy of telling them to get out. Anyway, lights out." The nurse turned off the lights and closed the door.

Usually, Lenny would've told the nurse that he wasn't sleepy; he always did that when he was a kid and he had to go the hospital for some reason. But now… he actually felt sleepy. Needless to say, he soon fell asleep.

_Scene Change_

Oscar was on his computer, looking up information on Coral City. He hadn't found out much info on it yet; the search results kept showing him different websites, (You can guess what was on those websites) but he had finally found what he was looking for… and it was on a travel website.

"Okay, so it says here," Oscar read off the computer screen, "That Coral City is one of the best tourist attractions because of its competitions and talent shows. It is an all carnivorous city…" Oscar stopped right there. _'All carnivorous? If I go there I'll be eaten for sure!'_

'_Read the letter; and this time read ALL of it.' _A voice in his head said.

Oscar took the letter from off his computer desk and read it. There was one part he read that he knew would help him out. _"I'm staying at my new friend Ronnie's place, and she's very nice. She didn't laugh at me when I said I was a vegetarian; truth is she's omnivorous!"_

"That's it!" Oscar said to himself. "If I get Lenny's friend Ronnie, she'll be able to help me out! And since she's omnivorous, there's a slight chance she won't eat me!"

Oscar had it all planned out. Now all he had to do was find the location of Ronnie's ship.

'_Map quest, don't fail me now.' _

_Scene Change_

Lamont was at his desk, filing paperwork, when suddenly…

"Dadddddyyyyyyy!"

Lamont knew this whiny voice's owner anywhere; after all, it did belong to his daughter. Carlotta was floating in front of his desk, holding her nose.

"What's wrong Carlotta?" Lamont asked.

"Lenny ran off on me, and then this girl came up and broke my nose!" Carlotta wailed.

"What?" Lamont said. "I thought my boys took care of him!"

"Well, you see, I kind of shot him…" Carlotta began.

"Oh, well then, what's the problem?" Lamont asked.

"It wasn't a direct hit. He's still alive somewhere, with his girlfriend. Man, I hate her…" Carlotta said.

"Do you remember what she looks like?" Lamont asked.

Carlotta nodded her head. "And the boys you sent after Lenny know what she looks like too."

"Well, don't worry sweetheart." Lamont said. "We'll get Lenny… and his friend too…"

"Thank you daddy." Carlotta said sweetly before swimming out the office.

"No problem." Lamont said. _'You aren't gonna slip away from me this time Lenny. This time, I'm gonna get ya myself…'_

_TBC…_

_Oooh, what happens next? Will Lamont kill Lenny? Will Angie and Reuben get out of the mob's capture alive? Will Oscar find out where Lenny is? Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie!_

**I have found voices for un-voiced characters!**

**Rhea- Who could do her voice: Pepa (You know… from the group called 'Salt and Pepa?')**

**Willie- Who could do his voice: Bruce Willis **

_R&R pleez! _


	21. Texas Hold 'Em

_Author's Note: Yeah, that's right folks… I'm back. Did ya'll miss me? Come on… ya'll know ya'll missed me… _

_Lenny: Cut the bull and get to the story!_

_Aqua Aussie: Why? You ain't gettin' no make-out scene._

_Lenny:… Never mind. Go ahead and continue your author's note. (Swims away)_

_Author's Note: Anyhoo… wassup my peoples? I'm back with another chappie! This chappie will be focusing mainly on Angie, Reuben, how Jamel, Andre and Ricky are doing, the shark tale mafia, Ernie and Bernie, Sykes, as well as Oscar. Guess what folks? We'll also get to see Don Feinberg! Yay!  
For all my violence and dark parts of the story lovers: Don't worry, even though there's no violence in this chappie, it doesn't mean that there won't be any violence in the next chappie… _

_And now for my shout-outs!_

**The Crouching Tiger Shark: That's right, she broke Carlotta's nose. It was either that, or write a scene with the song 'Girl fight', and since I was being lazy… ha, does Carlotta have a fan club now? Yes, Oscar's going to get Lenny for help, and he might get it… but then again, he might not. Yup, Lola was behind the shooting… but there's another surprise behind that… I like surprises… Okay, I won't leave you hangin', here's the update!**

**Z Star The Hidden Dragon- No worries, that happened to me once. Just when you think it's on your alert list… Glad to know that you like Ronnie. Yes, Oscar's doing the right thing… So... you want Maybe Angie and Reuben will break up in some dramatic break-up scene? I'm thinking differently… Mwahahahahaha…. **

**Insane Pirate Dragon- Oh yeah! Well I smell… (sniff, sniff) Oh, you're right… trouble is off the port bow… Oscar's gonna go to get Lenny to help him... I wonder how that's gonna turn out.**

_Oh, and Special Thanx to the STFU (not what it sounds like) group for giving me some ideas for this story… and to Lav'O'Dolphin for teaching me how to play poker… _

_Oh, and look very carefully at some moments in this chappie… some of them will have things that'll turn up later in another chappie…_

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Twenty-One: Kidnaps and Cover-ups**

'_Aww man… my head…'_

Reuben woke up and found himself lying on a red pebbled floor. He saw a stream of bubbles coming from a clear, plastic tube, and even though he knew he was still underwater, he could tell that he was not home.

'_Where the heck am I?' _

Trying his best not to panic, Reuben looked around the place. He saw red chairs in corners of the room, a desk with what looked like important papers on it, and a bar on the right wall. He immediately knew where he was. Panicking slightly, he dashed forward… and bumped into a glass wall.

"But… if this is Lino's study…" Reuben said, "Then he should have an aquarium with piranhas in it…" He looked around for the aquarium with the flesh-eating fish in it, but found nothing. "Hmm, that's weird. It's usually in the center of the room. If I'm right, it should be in the center in the room, in an aquarium like the one I'm in…" Reuben paused after he heard himself say those words. He turned around slowly, with a scared expression on his face, looked up… and saw a group of piranhas staring at him.

"Ahhh!" Reuben shouted, banging on the glass walls. "Help! Help! They're gonna eat me! Let me out! Let me out! Let… me… OUT!"

"Take it easy, they ain't gonna eat ya." A voice said with a slight chuckle.

Reuben stopped banging on the glass walls after he heard the voice. _'Aww man, I bet its Don Lino himself.' _He turned his head slowly to the source of the voice… and found Luca, sitting on a chair, nonchalantly munching on shrimp he pulled from a bowl.

"How do you know?" Reuben said suspiciously. "I bet you're just waiting for them to eat me!"

"Nope, not really." Luca said with his mouth full. "They won't eat ya 'cause da boss told them not to eat ya."

"Yeah right." Reuben said.

Luca shrugged. "Fine. Don't believe me." He picked up a shrimp from the bowl and began talking to it, ignoring its cries for help. "I'm gonna eat ya, oh yes I am. First, I'm gonna chew ya, then, I'm gonna taste ya, and then, I'm gonna swallow ya…"

"Aren't you a little too big to be playing with your food?" Reuben said.

"Aren't you a little too little to be mouthing off?" Luca returned with a glare. Meanwhile, the shrimp wriggled from his grasp and swam out the window. "Aww, see! You made me lose my lunch!"

Reuben smirked mischievously. He was going to have fun with Luca.

_Scene Change_

"Ronnie… Ronnie!"

Ricky was swimming around, looking for his sister. He hadn't seen her swimming around the place to see the city at night; which was weird, because she loved the city lights. He hadn't seen her near her house, which was weird, because she loved that place of hers. But weirdest of all, he hadn't seen her in the hospital; she was supposed to stay in there for another few days.

Turning the corner to where Shelly worked, Ricky cautiously swam inside. He had learned to look around before swimming inside after bumping into a thug that played pool there. Of course, the thug thought Ricky bumped into him on purpose and a fight broke out. Luckily, Shelly was able to help Ricky out, but not before he gained a black eye that was still visible today.

Ricky swam towards the bar, where Shelly had her back turned and was cleaning out a beer glass.

"I'd like a whiskey please." Ricky said.

Shelly jumped slightly and turned around. "Aww, Ricky, don't do that! You startled me…" She picked up the glass she had dropped when she was startled, and began cleaning it again. "So, do you really want a whiskey?"

"Not really. I'm not thirsty… and even if I was, I wouldn't go for whiskey. Maybe tequila or some of that strawberry flavored stuff, but not whiskey." Ricky said.

"Oh, well then what brings you here then?" Shelly asked.

"I was wondering if you saw Ronnie around anywhere." Ricky said. "I haven't seen her at the hospital."

"Did you try looking at her house?"" Shelly asked.

Ricky nodded his head.

"Did you try looking at Lenny's house?" Shelly asked.

"Lenny swam away from here after he killed Markie." Ricky said.

"Lenny killed Markie?" Shelly nearly shouted. "Should've seen that coming."

"Yeah, and Lenny swam away because he thought he would get in trouble." Ricky shook his head. "We have no idea where he is now."

"He's probably in Weed city." Shelly said. "We all know that he'd never go back to Reef City."

"Weed city!" Ricky shouted, causing all of the thugs to stare at him.

"Hey, kid! You made me miss my shot!" A pool player called from the pool table.

"Sorry." Ricky said, embarrassed. He then added in a not-as-loud voice, "Weed city? But that's where all the psychos and killers are!"

"Hey, I could be wrong." Shelly said.

"Okay, sure," Ricky said, "But that still doesn't explain where Ronnie is."

Shelly thought for a moment before saying, "Did you try Andre's house?"

"Andre's house?" Ricky questioned.

Shelly shrugged. "He's got a nice house."

"And you would know because…?" Ricky said with a smirk.

"…I saw his house before…" Shelly said slowly.

"Oh, okay." Ricky said. "Well, I guess I'll be going now. I've gotta go see if Jamel and Andre know where she is…"

"Wait! Are you sure you don't want a drink first?" Shelly said before he left.

"Well… why not? I'm thirst now anyways." Ricky said. "One of those watermelon things please."

Shelly immediately mixed a drink and gave it to Ricky, who drained it in one gulp.

"That was good." Ricky said, satisfied.

"Oh, really? I've never gotten a compliment before." Shelly said. "That'll be one seventy-five."

"You're joking, right?" Ricky said.

Shelly just held out her hand expectedly. "Well? Cough it up!"

"Aww c'mon, Shelly." Ricky whined. "You wouldn't make one of your friends pay, would you?"

"I sure would." Shelly said. "So, will you be paying in cash or cash?"

Ricky sighed and dug into his wallet. "You… are one evil person." He said as he handed her the money.

"Mwahaha." Shelly said.

_Scene Change_

Ricky swam up to Andre's door, and knocked on it. Out of all the places to find Jamel and Andre, Andre's place was the number one spot. His kitchen was always filled with treats, and hey, he had cool video games! Waiting a few moments, Ricky knocked on the door again. While waiting for the door to open, he looked around the place. He had never noticed that the hallways always seemed to glow, and had never seen that supply closet with the full supply of paint in them.

'_I wonder why they put that there.' _Ricky thought. _'Maybe they're painting somebody's house.'_

He was so caught up in the closet he failed to notice that Andre had answered the door.

"Hello… Ricky…" Andre said quietly. Ricky was still staring at the hallways, so he said in a louder tone, "Ricky!"

Ricky jumped slightly and yelled. When he realized that it was just Andre, he said, "Andre? What're you doing here?"

"I live here."

"Oh, that's right." Ricky said embarrassedly.

"So, what brings you here…" Andre began, but stopped when he and Ricky heard a loud crash from inside his apartment. Rolling his eyes, Andre shouted, "Jamel!"

Ricky heard Jamel's voice coming from inside the room. "Sorry! I didn't know that the dishes could break!"

"They can't." Andre said. "Not unless you throw them against the wall."

"Heh, well… it's a funny story…"

Andre sighed and shook his head before turning his attention back to Ricky. "So, what brings you here?"

"I was wondering if you or Jamel knew where Ronnie was." Ricky said. "I haven't seen her anywhere."

Andre's eyes widened. He remembered that he wasn't supposed to tell Ricky where she was. "Uhh… Ronnie?"

"Yes." Ricky said.

"You mean… your sister Ronnie?"

"Yes."

"The Ronnie with the little necklace thingy?"

"Yes." Ricky sighed.

"Haven't seen her." Andre lied.

"Oh." Ricky said. "Well, do you know if Jamel's seen her?"

"Uhh… I don't know." Andre said. "Lemme go check." Andre swam into his apartment and saw Jamel sitting at a pull-out table, eating chips. "Hey! You ate all the chips!"

"Sorry man," Jamel said with a mouthful of chips, "But they were just too good. I was hungry. And you were taking too long." Noticing the look on his friend's face, Jamel added, "You've got more chips in the pantry."

"Well, yeah, but those were my favorite kind…" Andre began, but his expression changed when he thought about what Jamel said. "Hey… how'd you know that I had more chips in the pantry? You didn't even know I _had _a pantry!"

Jamel grinned sheepishly. "Well… I did say I was hungry…"

Andre sighed. "Anyway, we've got a problem."

"Did we run out of chips?" Jamel asked.

"No." Andre said.

"Then I don't see a problem." Jamel said.

"Ricky wants to know where Ronnie is." Andre said.

"Not my problem." Jamel said casually as he gulped down some soda.

"He wants to know if you know where she is, so he's waiting outside."

"Just became my problem." Jamel said. "So where's Ricky?"

"Outside the door." Andre said.

"Well let's go outside the door!" Jamel said.

Jamel and Andre swam outside where they saw Ricky looking at the clock. "Oh," he said, looking at the two, "You guys are back."

"Yeah." Jamel said. "Sorry dude, but I don't know where Ronnie is either."

"Oh." Ricky said. What was he supposed to do now?

"Hey…" Andre said, "You wanna play some poker?"

Ricky stared at him.

"It's Texas Hold 'Em." Jamel said in a song-song voice.

"Okay." Ricky said.

So, the three friends played Texas Hold 'Em.

_Scene Change_

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, gets on everybody's nerves, gets on everybody's nerves, I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes…"

"Will you shut up!"

Reuben held back his laughter as he looked at the annoyed expression on the octopus's face. He had been singing that song ever since Luca lost his lunch, and was successful in going through thirty verses (Not including the chorus line) before Luca had blown up.

"Why? Don't you like my singing?" Reuben asked innocently.

"No. It's horrible." Luca said.

"Oh yeah? Well I don't like it when you play the piano, so there!" Reuben said in a childish tone.

"I've never played the piano while you were here." Luca pointed out.

"Oh yeah… well… uhh… your playing still sucks." Reuben said.

"Like you can play any better." Luca retorted. "I bet you can't play anything at all."

"Yes I can!" Reuben said. "I can play the keyboard." He added proudly.

"Really?" Luca said in disbelief. "Prove it."

Reuben had an idea to get himself out the aquarium. "I can't, my keyboard isn't with me." He said. "If you could let me out of here, I could go to my house and get it…"

"Yeah right." Luca scoffed. "If I let you outta there, you'd swim away."

"No I won't." Reuben said. "I promise."

"Pinky promise?" Luca asked.

"I don't have a pinky." Reuben said.

"Well do you sincerely promise?" Luca asked, still unsure.

"Yep!" Reuben said with his fins crossed. "Promise!"

"Well, since you promised… I guess its okay to let you go." Luca said as he took Reuben out of the aquarium.

'_Wow, this guy isn't as smart as I thought he was.' _Reuben looked left, looked right… and began to swim faster than he had ever swum before.

"Hey!" Luca shouted after Reuben.

"Sucker!" Reuben shouted as he swam for the door. He was about to make a clean getaway when…

'_Oh… my… God…'_

There, floating right in front of Reuben, were four big sharks. The four were all glaring at him, and one of them glared at Luca.

"Aww, jeez Luca! You let 'im out!" Giuseppe said in an annoyed tone. "Can't you baby-sit somebody without losing them?"

"Hadn't it been for us, the guy would've swam out already!" Michael added.

"It's not my fault!" Luca complained. "He tricked me!"

"Oh really?" Jimmy asked in an unbelieving tone. "What'd he do?"

"He promised me that he wouldn't swim away." Luca answered.

Everybody stared at him.

"What are ya, stupid?" Cody said. "You know he would've still swam away! Pscht, you believed him because he promised you. That was stupid."

"I know." Reuben laughed. "The guy believed me! I had my fins crossed behind my back! Even if I didn't cross my fins, I still would've swam away. He's so gullible!" Reuben continued to laugh until he noticed four death glares focusing their attention on him. He chuckled nervously. "Heh, I'll just go back to the aquarium now." He slowly inched his way to the aquarium. Luca picked up the top as Reuben swam in, and then made sure that Reuben couldn't get out.

"Ha! You won't get out this time." Luca said. He smiled and brushed off his tentacles, but stopped when he noticed that now, the four death glares were focused on him. "What?" He asked.

Cody sighed. "Never mind. Let's just play some poker."

Luca pulled out a portable table and unfolded it. The five sat around the table and had cards handed out to them.

"Okay, so the game is Texas Hold 'Em." Luca said.

"Texas Hold 'Em?" Jimmy said. "Why Texas Hold 'Em? I don't wanna play that!"

"Would you rather play go fish?" Luca asked.

"Well… no…"

"Okay then! We're playing Texas Hold 'Em." Luca said.

Jimmy sighed and stared at his cards. "Hey! I've got three kings!"

This let out frustrated groans from the players.

"Jimmy! You aren't supposed to tell us that!" Cody said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, sorry." Jimmy said. "Can we start all over?"

Luca sighed. "Fine. But this time, no telling anybody your cards! The whole object of the game is to keep people guessing… and to steal their money." Luca took up everybody's cards and began to shuffle them again. Meanwhile, Reuben watched.

'_So… they get really mad when people tell their cards…' _A plan began to form in Reuben's head. Good thing he was right behind where Luca was sitting, otherwise, his plan wouldn't have worked.

"Hey everybody!" Reuben shouted. "Luca has a flush!" (Is that a good thing?)

The four sharks all looked at each other before chorusing, "Fold!"

"What'd you do that for?" Luca said to Reuben. "I could've won the round!"

"Oh well." Reuben said with a shrug. "Hey, can I play?"

"No." Luca said bitterly.

"Why not?" Reuben asked innocently.

"Because I said so." Luca replied.

"You aren't my momma." Reuben said.

There was no reply. Reuben frowned as the five began to play again. Less than a moment later, if you were outside the door, you would've heard:

"Luca's got a good hand again!"

"Fold!"

"Dang it!"

_Scene Change_

Don Lino stared out the window in the lounge. This was what he would usually do when he needed to think, and trust me; he had _a lot _to think about. He had just lost his son (if you want to call it losing) and he needed an heir to take on the don ship. If he didn't have one, people would fight over who gets to be the next don, and, putting it lightly, all hell would break loose. Just as soon as he was beginning to feel calm, he heard a gravelly voice.

"So… come out here to think, huh?"

Lino turned around to find out that Don Feinberg was in the room.

"Don Feinberg… I didn't hear you come in." Lino said.

"Please, call me Ira." Don Feinberg said. "No need for formalities here. Save that for banquets."

"All right." Lino said with a small smile. A few seconds later, he was staring out the window.

"You do know that you can't see the city out that window, right?" Don Feinberg said in an effort to start a conversation.

Lino just grunted slightly and continued to stare out the window.

"There are only the wastelands to see. Nothing fun happens there." Don Feinberg, trying to get some words out of the guy.

He only got the same reaction.

Don Feinberg sighed and rubbed his head. This was not going to be easy. "What's wrong?" He said, trying to get to the point.

"What?" Lino said in a confused tone.

"I said 'What's wrong'?" Don Feinberg said.

"There's nothing wrong." Lino said. "I just… needed to think."

"Nothing wrong? Lino, we've all seen the way you've moped around, especially me. So there's no way you can look me in the eye and tell me that there's nothing wrong." Don Feinberg said sternly.

Lino didn't reply. He only stared out the window.

Don Feinberg sighed. "So, if there's nothing wrong… what's on your mind?" Expecting to hear a long silence, he was surprised to hear an answer.

"Nothing. Just some… stuff." Lino said.

"Oh, stuff." Don Feinberg said, nodding his head. "It wouldn't happen to be stuff about Lenny, would it?"

Lino sighed. "Do you think… I was wrong… you know… to say that he couldn't come back?"

'_So I was right. He is sad over Lenny.' _"That's for you to decide, not me." Don Feinberg said.

Lino sighed. "I guess so. But still, I can't believe I sent him away. I didn't mean to say he couldn't come back… I was just so angry."

"Choices made in the heat of anger only come back to haunt you." Don Feinberg said.

"Normally I wouldn't admit things like this…" Lino said, "But you're right. I should've cooled down first."

"At least you're admitted it." Don Feinberg said. "But you know what? I think that you're glad that Lenny's gone."

"What?" Lino said.

"I mean, after all, he was the next _Il capo di tutti i Capi_." Don Feinberg said. (Boss of all bosses)

"Well, yeah, but not everybody's opposed to it." Lino said.

"They used to be." Don Feinberg said. "Remember when it was said that you were the next big boss? It took everything you had to make them not like you… but they finally liked you when you saved Giuseppe's sister…" He began to smirk.

"Oh no, please don't bring that up." Lino said.

Don Feinberg smiled. "Let's go get some lunch. They've got orange marmalade covered shrimp and a secret sauce."

"Uh… not just yet. I've got something important to do first." Lino said. "I've gotta make a phone call."

"All right. I'll be in the dining room." Don Feinberg said.

As Don Feinberg swam out the door, Lino swam to the phone to call a fish we know all too well…

_Scene Change_

Everything was quiet at the Whale Wash. There were no sounds of dancing, joking, or music, except for the music coming from Head Phone Guy's headphones. The only sounds you could hear was the sound of whales getting washed and the occasional cough coming from one of the bungee crabs. Even the phones didn't seem to ring as much as it did when Reuben and Angie were there.

Reuben and Angie were the reasons why everything was so quiet. Out of all the people who worked there, Angie and Reuben were the most optimistic. Reuben would always joke around and Angie would always show up to work with a smile on her face. The employees there were shocked when they didn't show up to work a day ago; if they ever missed work, they would always call. The first day they were gone, they didn't pay much attention to it; but today, everything was quiet. They all had a feeling that something bad had happened; they just didn't know what.

Since Reuben was gone, another fish had to pick the stuff off that dangly thingy in the back of the whales' throats. (You know… that little dangly thingy in your throat? What's that called?) He wasn't very good at the job, but he did it nonetheless. Since Angie was gone, Ernie and Bernie had to take over her job again. They were doing a much better job than they usually did, but they still got the opening line wrong. The long silence that dragged on for what seemed like an eternity was about to be broken.

"OH MY GOD!"

Sykes' voice rang throughout the Whale Wash. His office door burst open as he dashed out. As soon as he was in the center of the Whale Wash, he shouted,

"Reuben and Angie have been kidnapped!"

The long silence ended right there. Murmuring voices throughout the Wash, and even the whales seemed to tense up. Finally, one voice rose up amongst the panicked fish voices.

"Who kidnapped them?"

The noise died down. Everyone stared at the fish who shouted that, who shrunk back. Sykes sadly answered,

"The same guys who kidnapped Angie last time." Sykes said. "And I have to show up too."

_Scene Change_

"Let's try this again…"

Luca was dealing out a new combination of cards. Reuben kept telling everybody his cards, and it was really starting to tick Luca off.

"Hey! I didn't get enough cards!" Jimmy complained.

Luca found that he had one extra card. "Here." He said, holding out his third arm.

"Hey, Luca? How come you never use _that _arm?" Cody asked, pointing to the eight one.

"Because I don't want to, that's why." Luca said quickly.

"He's lying." Reuben said in an annoying sing-song voice. "There's a reason."

"Shut up you!" Luca said angrily.

"You guys wanna know the reason?" Reuben asked

"Yeah." Cody said.

"You sure?" Reuben said.

"Yeah." Giuseppe said.

"You _really _sure?" Reuben said.

"Out with it all ready!" Michael shouted.

"He uses it to…!"

Before Reuben could say anything, someone swam in the door. It… was Don Lino. Reuben was too scared to notice it, but if Lino hadn't swam in that room, Luca probably would've killed him.

"What the… what did I tell you guys about using my office to play poker?" Lino said.

"Um… you told us not to use it." Cody said.

"Okay then." Lino said, crossing his fins.

A few moments passed before Cody got what Lino was trying to say.

"Oh! You want us to leave!" Cody said.

"Yeah." Lino said.

"Oh well… we'll go now." Cody said. Everybody swam out the room.

"So… you're probably wondering why you're here." Lino said.

"Naw, not really." Reuben said. "I all ready know why I'm here. I really want to know where Angie is though."

"Didn't you notice?" Lino asked. "She's sleeping in that little cave over there."

Reuben turned around and saw Angie, sound asleep in a cave that had piranhas floating around it. A worried look crossed his face.

"Don't worry; they won't eat her." Lino said. "I'm not that cold."

Reuben looked at Lino. "How long do we have to be in here?" He asked.

"It's not that long." Lino said. "It's only for a twelve days."

"Twelve days!" Reuben shouted. "That's a long time!"

"You'll live." Lino said. "Besides, it's not like we're gonna mistreat ya."

"You guys kidnapped me." Reuben said.

"Hey, we may be kidnappers, but we're kidnappers with _class_." Lino said. "Besides, how can it be called 'kidnapping' if you aren't a kid?"

"I don't know." Reuben said. "But still… that's a long time." He glanced at Angie for a moment. "Ya'll didn't hurt her, did you?"

"What did I just say?" Lino said. "We may be kidnappers, but we're kidnappers with class."

"… Is that a yes or a no?" Reuben questioned.

Lino sighed. "It's a 'no.'"

"Good." Reuben said. "If it was a 'yes', I'd have to bust out my kung-fu."

Lino rolled his eyes and swam out the door.

_Scene Change_

Oscar wrote down the information he need on a sheet of paper. He had finally found the right address, even though he was sure he should've found it two days ago.

"Yeah! I've got the info!" Oscar shouted. "Now all I have to do is get Lenny!"

"Too bad you won't live long enough to do that."

Oscar turned around and saw a fish in a black mask floating in his penthouse.

"Who're you?" Oscar demanded, his grip tightening on the paper.

"Never mind who I am." The fish said. "I'm just here to make sure you don't find your friend." He pulled a gun from behind his back.

Oscar's eyes opened in realization. "Lola sent you. You're the gun fish."

"That's right." The gun fish said. "And I never miss a shot." As soon as he said 'shot', he pulled the trigger. Luckily, Oscar noticed where his fin was, and was able to swim out his penthouse.

The gun fish chased after him. He lost Oscar for a second, but found him when he saw a flash of green, yellow and blue disappear into an alley.

"Come on." The gun fish said, slowly swimming in the alley. "Don't make this harder than it is." He looked behind some trash cans. "Ah, so we're playing hide and seek, are we?" He added in a taunting voice. "Oh Oscar… come out, come out, wherever you are… oof!"

Oscar had hit the gun fish in the head with a heavy piece of trash he had found in the dumpster. The gun fish collapsed to the ground. He would be knocked out long enough for Oscar to get to the city. Looking back at the gun fish, Oscar headed for Coral city.

_Scene Change_

'_It's so dark…'_

Angie opened her eyes and found herself in a small cave. "Where am I?" She said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She swam out the mouth of the cave only to find herself face to face with a piranha.

"Ahhh!" She shouted.

"They won't eat you ya know."

Angie turned around and saw the last fish she ever expected to see. It was Reuben!

"Reuben! You're alive!" Angie said joyfully as she swam over and gave him a hug.

"I sure am." Reuben said with a laugh. "Happy to see me?"

"Of course I'm happy to see you!" Angie said. "Who gave you the donation?"

Reuben shook his head. "I don't know."

"But I do."

Angie and Reuben turned to see Lola floating outside the aquarium.

"Lola." Reuben said angrily.

"Glad to see you still remember me." Lola said with a smile.

"What're you doing here?" Angie demanded.

"Well, you wanted to know who gave Reuben his blood." Lola replied. "I'm just here to tell you."

"Yeah right." Reuben said. "You don't know anything."

"Oscar gave you the blood." Lola said.

Angie and Reuben stared at Lola with surprised looks on their faces.

"He did?" Reuben asked.

"Hey, I don't know anything, remember?" Lola said with a smirk.

"Shut up and just tell us about Oscar." Angie said impatiently.

"How can I tell you about Oscar if you told me to shut up?" Lola questioned innocently.

"You know what I mean." Angie said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, Oscar felt bad, and decided to donate blood to Reuben." Lola said. "He wanted to remain anonymous because for some reason, he thought you guys didn't like him."

'_That's why he wanted to stay unknown. He thought I didn't like him.' _Reuben thought. _'When I get out of this, I'm gonna tell him thanks.'_

Lola read Reuben's thoughts off his face. "Too bad you won't get to thank him; I have someone making sure of that."

"What do you mean?" Reuben asked.

"I hired a gun fish to kill him." Lola said. "He's the same gun fish that shot you."

Reuben's eyes widened in anger. He swam towards Lola, only remembering that a wall of glass separated them when he bumped into it. "You were the one behind that? I could've died!" He shouted angrily.

"Yeah, I know." Lola said. "It's not like I care."

"All of this because you were dumped." Angie said angrily. "You are one jealous bitch."

Lola's eyes narrowed in anger. "I guess I'm not wanted here."

"It took you that long to notice that?" Angie said. "Now go away. And I swear, if I ever see you again, it'll take more than make-up and surgery to make your face look pretty again."

Lola's angry face turned into fury as she swam out the door.

"Whoa." Reuben said. "I know to never get you mad."

_Scene Change_

"Dang… you've won again."

Jamel and Andre watched as Ricky took more of the chips on the table.

"Don't worry guys… maybe you'll win next time." Ricky said with a smirk.

"Dang man," Jamel said, "Now I see why Ronnie went to Weed City to find Lenny; you win too many times at this game."

"Ronnie's in Weed City?" Ricky shouted.

Andre glared at Jamel. "Oops." Jamel said shamefacedly.

"Jeez Jamel!" Andre said. "You weren't supposed to tell!"

"Tell? Tell what?" Ricky crossed his fins. "Is there something you two wanna tell me?"

"Busted." Jamel mumbled.

"Well, you see…" Andre said, "Ronnie didn't want us to tell you this, but… she went to Weed City to find Lenny."

"Weed City?" Ricky said. "That's where all the killers are! The freaks really do come out at night over there!"

"Yup, she's in Weed City, with all the freaks and psychos and killers…" Jamel began. When he noticed the death glare on Andre's face and the horrified expression on Ricky's face, he quickly added, "But hey, she's a big girl! She can take care of herself. In fact, I bet she already found Lenny and is on her way home right now."

"You just said that because Andre's giving you one of the best death glares I've ever seen." Ricky said.

Jamel turned to Andre, who tried to look as innocent as possible. "Why'd you have to make it so obvious?" Jamel whispered.

Andre rolled his eyes. "Look, I know you're worried, but would it make you feel better if _I _said that Ronnie was a tough girl. She's way more than capable of taking care of herself. Trust me, I know. She punched me in the fin once, and that hurt."

Ricky sighed. "I guess you're right." He said as he swam out the door. "Bye guys."

So, Ricky swam to his hotel, unaware of the crazy things that were about to happen…

_TBC…_

_Oooh, Angie swore! The gun fish is after Oscar. Sykes has to appear at the sit down again, and Reuben and Angie are kidnapped… will Lino still feel guilty? Will Angie really kick Lola's butt? Will Oscar ever get Lenny's help? There's only one way to find out, and that's to stick around for the next chappie!_

_Well, that was the chappie. I hope you enjoyed the small moments of humor, because you won't be getting any in the next chappie…_

_R&R pleez! Reviewers get cookies!_


	22. Bandanna colors and stuff

_Author's Notes: Yeah, I'm back! I like it here…  
In a chappie-like-thing I deleted, I held a poll asking if you'd like for me to mess with the character's minds… I meant the character's lives, but… people said yes, so I'll be messing with the character's lives again! It was supposed to end after this chappie, but… that wouldn't be any fun, would it?  
And now, for my shout outs!_

**MononokeShojo- Wow, car accident… hope you're all right… well, glad to see that you're back! Yes, Oscar shall meet Lenny… and you shall find out what happens soon enough… or will you? And I shall mess with their lives… Mwahahahahaha! Merry (almost) Christmas! Here's your cookie! (Hands her a cookie) **

**Z Star The Hidden Dragon- Yeah, that would be boring. Yes, I am planning something big. Merry (almost) Christmas! Here's your cookie! (Hands her a cookie)**

**Shining Spirit Dragon- Yay! New reviewer! I'll try to include Luca a little more. I think I will try to mess with his mind. It'll give me a bit of a challenge. Merry (almost) Christmas! Here's your cookie! (Hand him/her a cookie)**

**The Crouching Tiger Shark- Okay, I'll look after Reuben… but I'll still be messing with his life… evilness… Merry (almost) Christmas! Here's your cookie! (Hand her a cookie)**

_Due to new rules, this is my last time putting shout-outs in chappies. I don't want my story to get deleted. So, from now on, I'll be using the reply button. _

_Because this chappie is dark, I must say something._

**Warning: Not for people who do not like the mentioning of blood. If you are offended by violence and blood, please leave now, or skip to a happier part of the story.**

**And another thing: I cannot believe that I wrote the fluffy part of this chappie. **

**And another thing: This chappie is twenty-seven pages long in 'word, so... get a snack or something...**

_Now that that has been said… I only need to say ONE more thing…_

_On wit da story!_

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

"Wow… this is a nice hotel!"

"Don't touch that!"

**CRASH!**

Ronnie watched in amusement as C.J. was practically ruining everything in sight. He had just shattered a glass figurine on a shelf, and Rhea was not happy. The hotel owners wouldn't be happy either.

"C.J.!" Rhea shouted angrily. "I told you not to touch that!"

"Well… I couldn't hear you." C.J. said quickly.

"Who cares if you didn't hear me?" Rhea said. "You should have enough sense not to touch an object made of glass, especially if it's not yours!"

Ronnie swam in from the kitchen holding a drink in her hand and a personal-sized bag of popcorn. If she was going to watch them fight, she was going to watch them fight with refreshments.

"Well sorry!" C.J. said in an annoyed tone. "Besides, how was I supposed to know it was fragile?"

Rhea stared at C.J. and shook her head. "Oh my God."

"What?" C.J. asked.

"That was… the stupidest… question… I have _ever _heard." Rhea said in a calm tone. Her tone then changed from calm to… not-so-calm. "The thing was made of _glass_. Glass is _fragile_. That's why it breaks! Besides, I told you that it was fragile in the first place!"

"No you didn't!" C.J. said. "You told me not to touch it!"

Rhea crossed her finds and smirked.

'_Busted.' _Ronnie thought as she munched on her popcorn.

"I thought you said you didn't hear me say that." Rhea said in an 'I caught you' tone.

C.J. realized what he had said. "Oh, well, um… did I say that?"

"Yes." Rhea said, the smirk never leaving her face.

"Well, uh… I didn't mean it like that. I meant it as in… I couldn't hear you because… there were people singing outside the door!" C.J. said quickly.

"Really? What were they singing?" Rhea asked.

""Uhh… uhh…" C.J. said, looking for an excuse. Finally, he found the excuse. "They were singing Christmas carols!"

"It's nowhere near Christmas." Rhea said. "Why were they singing Christmas carols?"

"Well, because, they, uh, I DON'T KNOW!" C.J. shouted.

"Thought so." Rhea said, still smirking.

"Uh, excuse me?" Ronnie said while eating her popcorn, "But I'm sleepy, and the pillows on the beds are already fluffed up…"

"Oh, we get the point." C.J. said. "We'll go now."

"Yeah, we'll go now." Rhea said. "See ya tomorrow, if you're gonna be here tomorrow."

"I probably will be." Ronnie said. "You've gotta show me around though. I'm not staying here all day tomorrow."

"I'll give you a wake-up call." Rhea said. "There's some stuff I gotta show you. So… bye!"

"Bye!"

Ronnie swam into the bedroom and floated down to the bed. _'Ya know, despite the run-in with hit sharks and the city's bad reputation, this is kind of a nice place. As long as I don't look for trouble, or if trouble doesn't find me, I'll be all right.'_

Ronnie was right. Trouble wouldn't be coming for her… it would be coming for someone else.

_Scene Change_

A dark figure grabbed a red bag full of darts. The figure began to throw the darts at a picture on the wall. Several times, it missed the picture.

"Grrrr… stupid darts…" The figure growled. Again, it began to throw the darts at the picture, and missed again. The figure dug into the bag, but it was empty. It swam over to the wall and picked up the darts. Suddenly, the figure heard the door creak open.

"Who is it?" The figure asked.

"It's me." A voice said.

"Ah, Ace. It's you." A lamp turned on, revealing the two creatures to be Ace and Lamont. "What do you want?"

"I heard about the um… 'incident' involving your daughter and her date." Ace said.

"And your point is?" Lamont said.

"Well, I thought that I should go out after him." Ace said. "You know, I'd be doing you a favor by capturing the guy, and I thought that you'd like the favor."

Lamont smiled a sickly-sweet smile. "That's very generous of you, Ace. In fact, I think you've earned yourself a reward."

Ace smirked. "Well, what kind of reward is it?"

Lamont's smile disappeared as he said, "This." Lamont had thrown Ace into the wall, making his office rumble.

Shaken, Ace tried to get up, but only fell back down to the floor. He was hurt badly from the throw. He looked up sullenly as he saw Lamont's shadow pass over him.

"W-what was that for?" Ace asked in a raspy voice.

Smirking evilly, Lamont picked Ace up by the gills and held him against the wall, watching the swordfish's air supply get cut short. His grin grew wider as he watched Ace squirm.

"Stop wriggling." Lamont ordered.

Ace resisted the urge to squirm, but his face continued to turn blue.

"You know, nobody likes a suck-up." Lamont said, tightening his grip on Ace's throat. "_I especially _don't like suck-ups. And that's all you've ever been to me over the years; a suck-up." Lamont loosened the grip on his neck gradually, until he dropped him on the floor.

Ace dropped to the ground and immediately began to gasp for breath, color returning to his face.

"But… boss…" Ace wheezed, stopping between words to get his breath, "I'm… not… a suck-up…"

"Not a suck-up?" Lamont chuckled and threw another dart at the picture and growled when he missed it by only a few inches. "Of course you are. Why would you think you weren't?"

"You… never told me…"

"Of course I never told you." Lamont said. "That was the only way I could get you to do things. Why else did I say that you were my best right-hand man? Did you think it was because I actually cared about you?"

Ace looked up in shock. For years, he had thought that he _was _Lamont's best right-hand man. But now, the cold reality had blown up in his face. It was all an act.

"I… thought…" Ace began, but didn't have the strength to say anything.

"Yeah, you _thought._" Lamont said. "Well, you know what? You thought wrong. You should leave the thinking to me from now on."

Ace opened his mouth to say something, but the look on Lamont's face told him to close his mouth. He looked down sadly and didn't say a word.

"Get out of my sight." When Ace didn't move, Lamont barked, "NOW!"

Ace didn't need to be told twice. Gathering the energy left in his body, he dashed out the room, nearly closing the door on his bruised tail.

Lamont chuckled and picked up the remaining darts. "You've been avoiding me for too long, Lenny. I'll find you, and this time, you won't get out alive." Lamont threw a dart at the picture of Lenny… and this time, it was a direct hit.

_Scene Change_

A few hours later, Ace had been able to breathe normally again. His back and tail were badly hurt from when Lamont had thrown him against the wall, and his head also still hurt from the impact. He didn't know how to take care of his wounds, and he couldn't get anyone else to tend to them. It wasn't because the other hit squad members didn't know how to wrap themselves up; many of the hit sharks had been in the business for a long time and knew how to patch themselves up like professionals. It was because of all the times he had mistreated them in the past.

When Ace had become Lamont's personal henchman, he had started to act high and lofty. He began bossing people around as if he were in charge himself, and was sometimes called 'mini-Lamont' behind his back. He had also beaten them up a numerous amount of times; a few of the Anglerfish could tell you about what they did to the lure on their head. Many of the hit sharks still had bruises. Of course, Tex had taken part in the beatings too, but he didn't hurt them as much as Ace did. He was thought of as 'a lesser threat' or 'not a threat at all', and on top of that, he was friends with some of the hit sharks. Ace knew that nobody had forgotten about all the things he had done to them, and they probably never will.

"I can't believe this." Ace said angrily. "I serve him for all these years, and what do I get? I get thrown into the wall! All I was trying to do was help him and he acts like I had killed his daughter!"

"You killed his daughter?"

Ace turned towards the shocked voice. Tex was sitting on an armchair in the parlor.

"Tex?" Ace questioned. "What're you doing here? And how'd you know what I was talking about?"

"You were ranting out loud; it's kind of hard not to hear." Tex said casually. "And did you really kill Carlotta?"

"No." Ace grumbled. "I wish I did though."

"Shhh!" Tex hissed. "Don't say that! If Lamont hears you, he'll have your gills…"

"He already did!" Ace shouted. "Did you notice the fact that my voice doesn't sound right?"

"Well…" Tex said, "You did sound kind of different…"

"That's because I had the air squeezed out of my gills!" Ace shouted. "The guy put a freakin' chokehold on me! Look at my neck!"

Tex scanned Ace's neck. It had a white ring around it, and it also looked like somebody had squeezed him there. "Ouch." Tex commented.

"Yeah, ouch." Ace said angrily. "You idiot, that was more than 'ouch.' He also decided to throw me like I was his little rag doll! I'm still sore!"

Tex then noticed the red, black, and blue marks on Ace's back and tail. He also could've sworn that Ace's head was dented.

'_Wow.' _Tex thought. _'It's a surprise he didn't suffer from brain damage!'_

"And you know what happened after that?" Ace said. "It turns out that I was never his best right-hand man. He just told me that to do his dirty work for him." Tex noticed the hint of sadness in Ace's voice as he said the last sentence.

"Oh, well… why didn't you patch yourself up?" Tex pointed out. "There's some ointment in the medicine cabinet…"

"You think I would've had the strength to swim to the medicine cabinet? **I WAS THROWN AGAINST A WALL, TEX!**" Ace shouted in an angry and annoyed tone.

"You could've gotten one of the other guys to help you out." Tex suggested. "They're really good at helping, and…"

"_One of the other guys_?" Ace said. "You think they'd really help me out after what I've done to them?"

"Well…" Tex said in a less eager tone, "Maybe they've forgotten…"

"Forgotten?" Ace snorted. "It's hard to forget when somebody abuses you. You remember what happened to Jason?"

"Oh yeah…" Tex said sadly. "I'll never forget him."

"Exactly." Ace said.

"Well…" Tex said in a tiny voice, "You could've asked Carlotta."

"Carlotta?" Ace said. "Oh, please. She's as much as a spoiled brat as you are stupid."

Tex's eyes went down. "It's not my fault I'm stupid."

"Oh really?" Ace said mocking voice. "And whose fault is it? I don't exactly see you trying to get smarter. So, whose fault is it? Your mother's? I was always taught that kids inherited some of their parent's genes."

Tex looked up immediately, and his eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "Leave my mother out of this."

"Ha! So I was right. It is your mother's fault." Ace said, circling the seething swordfish. "Now, tell me, Ace. Where is she now? Come on… you can tell me… it's all right if she's in a loony bin…"

What Tex did next caught Ace by surprise. He had almost made a repeat performance of what Lamont did. Instead of throwing him into the wall, he threw him to the wall, but there was one thing that was the same to Ace: it hurt.

"Dude!" Ace said, struggling to get up. "What was that all about…?"

Tex responded by grabbing his sides and slamming him against the wall. "NEVER TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER THAT WAY! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER!"

He dropped Ace to the floor, and faced away from him. Meanwhile, Ace was trying not to show fear. He had never seen Tex angry before; he didn't even know he could get angry!

"You wanna know where she is?" Tex said in a quiet voice. "She's dead."

Ace looked down in shame. Now he knew why Tex was so angry. Then, Ace did something he normally wouldn't do. He began to act sympathetic. "Whoa, Tex… I'm sorry…"

"You're not sorry. You never are." Tex snarled. "I bet you won't even be sorry when I tell you that the same person who killed my mom was the person that you were trying to get favors from."

Ace's eyes widened. It couldn't be… "Lamont." He whispered.

"Yeah, that's right; Lamont killed my mom." Tex said bitterly. "He's the reason why I'm stupid, and the reason why I'll never see my father again. He's the whole reason why I'm here."

"What…?" Ace said in confusion.

Tex sighed and took a deep breath before beginning his story. "Before you came here about a years after I did, I used to be Lamont's right hand man. It wasn't because I wanted to, though; it was because he was blackmailing me. If I didn't work for him, he'd kill my dad."

"That still doesn't explain why…" Ace began, but he was cut off.

"I had refused him once when he had told me that I'd be working for him." Tex said. "I kept telling him that I wouldn't get caught up in that whole crazy hit man business. When he told me the death threat, I didn't care. I said that I'd rather die than kill. I kept running away, and as you can see, I was brought back every time. Finally, Lamont had a mission for me to do. I had to… kill this little girl; she wasn't even four years old yet. He signed me up with a sharkess from another hit boss; I forgot her name." Tears began to form in Tex's eyes, but he continued. "When I said that I wouldn't take the job, he just smirked and said, 'Well, if I can't persuade you to do it, then maybe somebody else can.' That's when two of his boys carried my mom into the room."

With every sentence Tex said, Ace felt guiltier and guiltier. He had been talking about his mom for years. Now he knew why he was sp touchy when 'yo momma' jokes flew around, and why he had beaten up anybody who talked about his mom.

"So, that's when I obeyed and did the job. As soon as I got to the little girl, however, I lost face. She was just a little girl!" Tex continued. "The sharkess couldn't do it either, so… we both decided to lie and tell our bosses that we had killed the little girl. When I had got back from the mission and I told Lamont the story… he knew I was lying. He had sent someone to follow me and make sure that I did the job right. That's when he said, 'you really underestimate me, don't you, Tex?' And then… the two guys began to eat my mom, and… he made me watch…" That's when Tex burst into tears.

"Wow… I'm sorry… I didn't know…" Ace said in a tiny voice.

"Of course you didn't know!" Tex snapped. "You didn't even want to know! You were too busy trying to get promoted, or too busy bossing other creatures around, or too busy _making fun of me_ to care! You only looked out for yourself, and anytime someone needed help, you just swam by them like they were invisible. Let's face it Ace, all you ever cared about was yourself."

Ace looked taken aback for a moment. Then he said, "I don't only care about myself…"

"Yes you do, and don't try to deny it." Tex said. "When that shark guy wasn't able to kill that Scotty character, you didn't even think about the fact that maybe it was because he wasn't a killer. You didn't think about the fact that maybe that Scotty guy had a family. All you thought about was making Lamont happy so he could give you a reward."

Ace didn't reply. Everything Tex had said was true. _'Maybe I was underestimating him for a long time.' _

"You also need to get your priorities straight." Tex added.

"I've got my priorities straight!" Ace protested.

"Oh really?" Tex said. "Well answer this. After Lamont threw you into the wall, did you think about how you needed to get some ointment or how you served Lamont over the years and yet he still threw you against the wall?"

Ace didn't answer. He only narrowed his eyes. "I don't have to answer you."

"What did Lamont choke you for, huh?" Tex asked. "What did you say that ticked him off like that?"

"I offered 'take care of' Lenny for him." Ace mumbled.

"Really? Even though you knew he was the one who wanted to get him this time?" Tex pressed. "But that couldn't have been the only reason. What else did you do?"

"He said that I deserved a reward, and I said 'what kind of reward is it'?" Ace replied.

"Oh." Tex said. "That's the reason. He knew that you weren't offering to take care of Lenny just to help him out; he knew that you were saying that to get a reward. You're nothing but a suck-up, Ace."

"You think he didn't tell me that?" Ace said with a small grin.

Tex shook his head. "Come with me."

"Why?" Ace asked. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"If we don't go tonight, we're going tomorrow night." Tex said.

Ace thought for a moment. "I'm sleepy."

"Fine." Tex sighed. "We're going tomorrow night. Meet me here at eight' o'clock." He began to swim off to his apartment.

"Wait!" Ace shouted after him. "Where're we going?"

"You'll find out when we get there tomorrow." Tex said coldly. He swam out the door.

Ace shook his head as he watched Tex swim out the door. _'Knowing him, he'll probably take me out to an open field. Maybe we'll hunt some fish or somethin'.' _

Ace was wrong. Tex wouldn't be taking him out to an open field to hunt. Where he was going, there _was _going to be hunting, but Ace wouldn't be the _hunter_; he would be the _hunted_.

_Scene Change_

It was lunchtime in the 'Love Boat.' All the mafia members went down to the dining hall to get their serving of scallops and biscuits. They even had a new item on the menu: bacon! As we all know, bacon comes from pigs, and pigs aren't found underwater. The only reason they had this treat was because a boat carrying livestock had sunk. Everybody had arrived early to test the new food out and talk about its flavor amongst friends; everybody except for Luca, who had to eat where the aquarium was because he had to watch Reuben.

"Stupid boys." Luca grumbled, picking up a slice of bacon. "They almost took all the bacon…"

"What's that you're eating?" Reuben asked innocently.

Luca glared at Reuben before answering, "I'm eating bacon."

Reuben gasped. "Isn't that meat?"

"Yes, it is." Luca replied.

"How could you eat that poor fish?" Reuben said. "I might've known that guy!"

"Uh, Reuben," Angie said, "bacon comes from pigs."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Reuben said. "But still, I could've known that guy! I've got pen pals."

"Really?" Luca said nonchalantly. "Good for you."

"You know… you've got a really bad attitude." Reuben said.

"The only reason I've got this attitude is because you're annoying." Luca replied.

"Yeah, that's true." Reuben said with a smirk. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He smirked evilly and began to whisper in a spooky voice. "Luca… Luca…"

"Will ya stop callin' my name?" Luca said in an annoyed tone.

"That's not me!" Reuben said.

"Yeah, right." Luca snorted.

"Luca…"

"I'm about to send you into a world of hurt." Luca said.

"But that's not me!" Reuben said.

"Oh yeah? Well who is it?" Luca said. "My conscious?"

Reuben shrugged. "Could be."

Luca went back to eating his meal. Suddenly, a voice rang through his head.

"Luca… it's me… it's your conscious."

"What?" Luca said.

"I'm your conscious Luca. I'm your conscious…"

"You have an annoying voice, ya know that?" Luca said.

"Well, yes, but that's just to get my words stuck in your head… anyway… Luca... I have something to tell you…"

"What do you have to tell me?" Luca asked.

"Luca… you… are a big head."

"WHAT?" Luca turned to the aquarium and glared at the laughing Reuben. "You!" He shouted, pointing at him. "Stay out of my mind!"

"I couldn't help it!" Reuben said between laughs. "It was just too funny!"

"Reuben!" Angie whispered. "Stop bothering him! In case you haven't noticed, we're kind of vulnerable right now."

"Vulnerable?" Reuben questioned. "What makes you say that?"

Angie pointed to the horde of hungry piranhas behind her.

"Oh yeah." Reuben muttered. "I forgot about those guys…"

Luca had been listening in on their conversation and had gotten an idea. _'Hey, if those piranhas are watching them, then they must be thinking twice of trying to escape…' _"I'm gonna take a nap." Luca announced.

"Great." Reuben said sarcastically. "Anything else you wanna tell us?"

Luca thought for a second before smirking. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, there is." He picked up the tiny bowl of tartar sauce he had with him, and swam towards the aquarium.

"Heh heh…" Reuben chuckled nervously. "Uh… what're you gonna do with that?"

"Relax, Reuben." Luca said. "It's not you I'm after." He picked up Angie. "It's your girlfriend."

"What… hey!" Reuben said angrily. "Put her down!"

"Hmm… put her down." Luca said. "Nope, I don't think I will. Maybe I'll eat her…" He moved Angie towards his mouth…

"No!" Reuben shouted.

"So the annoying guy does have a weakness." Luca said. He smeared Angie in the tartar sauce and placed her back in the aquarium. This seemed to make the piranhas excited. "Now, I'm going to take a nap. Try to escape and your friend over here shall be eaten by the hungry piranhas."

"You know what you are?" Rueben said angrily. "You're a…" A whale followed by a school of fish passed by the open window, blocking out what Reuben was saying.

"Sorry, but I couldn't hear you." Luca said. "Now good night!" And with that, Luca dozed off.

"It's not even night yet." Reuben grumbled.

"Great!" Angie said angrily. "Thanks a lot Reuben! Now I'm covered in tartar sauce!"

"It's not that bad!" Reuben said, trying to cheer Angie up. "I mean, look on the bright side! At least you'll be able to wash the smell off when you get back home."

"Don't you mean 'if' I get back home?" Angie said.

Reuben sighed. "You know, suddenly, taking a nap doesn't sound like a bad idea." Reuben lied down on the pebbled floor and fell asleep.

Angie looked around, shrugged, and decided to go to sleep to.

_Scene Change_

Oscar dashed through what seemed like the millionth alleyway. It turns out that the gun fish wasn't knocked out as long as he would've liked. As long as he was there, he made Oscar's trip out the city impossible, and the fact that he was hot on Oscar's trail didn't help matters. Oscar knew he needed a place to hide, and he needed one now.

'_Where would be the last place he would look for me?' _Oscar thought, still swimming through the alleyway. _'Home? Naw, that's too obvious. Whale Wash? Nope… if I went there, he might decide to take a hostage! Where can I go?' _The perfect place finally popped into his head. _'I must be crazy.' _Oscar thought. _'There's no way I'll survive a second in there!' _

A gunshot snapped Oscar from his thoughts.

"I've got you now, Oscar!"

'_But there's no other place to go.' _With that thought, Oscar swam off in the direction of a place we know all too well: The Love Boat.

_Scene Change_

Oscar stared at the cruise ship from a safe distance.

"There it is." Oscar said. He glanced at his watch to check the time. "And it's lunch hour. Just my luck."

Oscar swam around the ship, looking for a way in. He couldn't go through the front door for obvious reasons, and there was no chimney; after all, it was a ship. He could try swimming into one of the tiny cracks in the side, but he didn't know what was in those cracks; it could've been a hungry eel, or even worse, a guard piranha. Plus, there was also the fact that some of those cracks didn't lead anywhere. He could get lost in one of those tiny tunnels. Finally, Oscar found a way in the ship; an open window.

He swam towards the window and started to look in to make sure that nobody was in there, but stopped himself.

'_Duh! I don't have to look in! It's lunchtime! They're all in the dining room!' _He swam in the room and took a look around. _'Cool… I'm in Lino's office. He's got a nice place.' _

Oscar poked his head out the window. There was no sign of the gun fish. _'Great! Now all I have to do is…'_

**Snore. **

Oscar flinched and stood still. Who knew what that noise was? It could've been an angry shark growling… or it could be Oscar's stomach growling. Most likely, it was the first option.

'_Well… here goes…' _Oscar turned around, awaiting bad things, but there was nothing behind him. _'Huh?' _Oscar looked for the source of the noise, and had to keep himself from laughing when he found out where it came from. It had come from a snoring Luca, with drool sliding down the corners of his mouth.

"And I was worked up over that." Oscar chuckled, shaking his head.

**Snore.**

This time, Oscar knew what the noise was, but it wasn't coming from Luca. It was coming from the direction of the aquarium, where there were sleeping piranhas. It seemed like everybody in that room was taking a nap; including Reuben and Angie, the only fish Oscar noticed. He swam up to the aquarium and knocked on the glass.

"Ang! Rube!" Oscar banged harder on the glass. "Wake up!"

Reuben stirred slightly, but still slept. Angie, on the other hand, heard the noise. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she turned towards the noise; and towards Oscar.

"Oscar!" Angie shouted.

"Shhh!" Oscar whispered. "Keep it down! I don't want anybody to find out that I'm here!"

"Sorry." Angie said. "But what are you doing here?"

"Well… I was trying to hide from the gun fish…" Oscar began.

"Gun fish!" Angie exclaimed. "What's he chasing you for?"

"He's trying to make sure I don't get to Lenny so I won't be able to ask him for help so I can help get you and Reuben out of here." Oscar said casually.

"What?" Angie said confusedly.

Oscar sighed. "Okay, here's the story."

And so, Oscar began telling her why he was trying to find Lenny, how he was able to find out where the address on the back of the letter is, and how the gun fish was chasing him down.

"Hmm, interesting story." Angie said. "But, one more question: how'd you get the letter? It was in my apartment."

"Well, you see… your back door was open, so all I had to do was go in and get the letter." Oscar said.

"Oh, well that's cool… wait." Angie took time to let Oscar's words sink in. "You went in my house?"

"You left your back door open." Oscar said. "You really should look into that you know."

"At least you got the info you needed." Angie said. "I suppose you've got everything figured out. You did read the whole letter, right?" She added, knowing how Oscar would sometimes skip over things.

"No. I only read enough to get the address and names of his friends." Oscar said. "It's not like there was anything else I needed to know… right?"

Angie sighed. "You should've read the whole letter."

"Why?" Oscar said, fearing what Angie might say.

"Because…" Angie said, "As we all know, Lenny's probably still mad at you, and… he's not exactly a vegetarian anymore."

"And that would mean…?" Oscar questioned.

"He wouldn't be so hesitant to eat you anymore." Angie said.

"Oh." Was all that Oscar could say. "But hey! I can make it all up as I go along! I can probably have a plan by the time I get to where Lenny is!"

"For your sake, I hope so." Angie said.

"Well… I guess I better be going now…" Oscar said, not really wanting to leave.

"Yeah." Angie said.

There was a long silence as Oscar looked out the window, checking for any signs of the gun fish. He was going to swim out when he sighed and turned around.

"Look, Ang… there's something I've gotta tell you before I go." Oscar said.

_I'm not a perfect person  
there's many things I wish I didn't do_

"What's that?" Angie asked.

"I'm sorry. "Oscar said. Noticing the look on Angie's face, he continued. "Now I know I've said it a million times already, and you're probably thinking 'he doesn't mean it', but I do."

_But I continue learning  
I never meant to do those things to you_

"And if I don't say this now, I'll probably never get the chance to say it again, or I might forget." Oscar said. "I doubt the forgetting part, but who knows? I've forgot a lot of important things. So, before I go… I gotta say something."

_And so I have to say before I go  
that I just want you to know_

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you in the past couple of months. If I hadn't lied about that whole shark slayer incident, most of the stuff that's happened never would've happened in the first place." Oscar said. "Because of me, one of my friends can't go home, another one almost died of blood loss, and one suffered from the most painful thing of all; a broken heart. I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize this."

Angie was speechless. She didn't know Oscar could get that serious.

_I found a reason for me  
to change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And the reason is you_

Once Angie had found her voice, she said, "Hey, it wasn't your fault that Reuben was shot; it was Lola's."

"Yeah, but she shot him because she was mad at me." Oscar replied. "And you can't deny that I broke your heart. Everyone knew that you had a "secret" crush on me; I didn't even know until it was too late. At first, I didn't know why you were so mad at me; well, I did know, I just didn't want to admit it. So basically, I put you through a lot of stuff that I should've dealt with myself."

_I'm sorry that I hurt you  
it's something I must live with everyday  
And all the pain I put you through  
I wish that I could take it all away  
And be the one who catches all your tears  
That's why I need you to hear  
_

"Ang, what I'm trying to say is, I've found a reason why I should fix everything up. Actually, there are a whole list of reasons, but there's one that tops them all." Oscar said.

"What reason would that be?" Angie asked.

"You." Oscar said with a slight smile.

_I've found a reason for me  
to change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And the reason is you…  
(The Reason by Hoobastank)_

"Wow, Oscar…" Angie said, at a loss for words. "That was… sincere. I didn't know you could get like that."

"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about me." Oscar said with a smile. "But, now I've gotta go. Hopefully, I'll see you in about a week." Oscar swam towards the window and turned around again. "Oh, and Ang? I always did kind of like you." With those words, Oscar swam out the window, leaving a surprised Angie behind.

_Scene Change_

Hours later in Weed City, the sun was going down. Shadows appeared on rocks, and the city grew darker. There weren't many lights in the city; only the light of the hotel's neon sign, the lightened windows of the hospital, Lamont's ship, and of course, the Tipsy Tug Tavern. Not a moment later, shades of purple and black blocked out any evidence that the sun was shining, and a few stars dotted the sky.

Most of the hit squad members were all done with their jobs, and were swimming towards the Tavern, a place they pretty much went to every day. C.J., Rhea, and Ronnie were just about to swim in, when C.J. suddenly stopped them.

"Hold up you guys." C.J. said. "We forgot something."

"What?" Rhea asked.

"We forgot one of the most important things of all about this tavern." C.J. said. "Ronnie over here doesn't have a bandanna."

"So?" Rhea asked.

"Remember the last time somebody went in without a bandanna?" C.J. said with his fins crossed.

Rhea thought for a moment before saying, "… Let's get her a bandanna."

"Why do I need a bandanna?" Ronnie asked.

"This tavern is strictly for the use of hit squad members and the creatures that work here." Rhea said. "If you don't have on a bandanna, you better work here or be well known without it, 'cause creatures get beat up if they aren't known here."

"Oh." Ronnie said. "So… where's the bandanna?"

"Uh… I kind of forgot it somewhere." C.J. said sheepishly.

"Figures." Rhea mumbled.

"But hey, we'll think of something… eventually." C.J. said.

Ronnie thought for a moment before saying, "C.J., you're well known without the bandanna, right?"

"Right." C.J. said.

"In that case, can't you just let me borrow yours?" Ronnie questioned.

"No." C.J. said. "It wouldn't be the appropriate color."

"Huh?" Ronnie said in a confused tone.

"You see…" C.J. began, but was cut off by Rhea.

"Hey, you guys! I've got something!" Rhea pulled a blue cloth from behind her.

"… That's not a bandanna." Ronnie said.

"No, but it can be a substitute for one." Rhea pointed out. She threw the bandanna to Ronnie, who put it on. "Now, let's go inside!"

The moment they swam through the door, Ronnie was getting weird stares from everyone. The talking quickly quieted down.

As they swam to their seats, Ronnie whispered, "Why are they looking at me like that?"

"You're new here." Rhea whispered back. "New people always get stared at. It's nothing personal. They just wanna remember your face in case they ever have to beat you up."

"Well that sure makes me feel better." Ronnie said sarcastically.

A moment later, they were seated, and talking resumed in the tavern as if Ronnie wasn't there at all.

"So, C.J," Ronnie said, "Why wouldn't you let me wear your white bandanna?"

_Scene Change_

Tex paced, looking at the clock. Ace should've been there by now. _'If he decides not to show up, I swear I'll…' _Tex ended the thought with a low growl. However, he wouldn't have to carry out the threat, because Ace had arrived.

"Hey." Ace said casually.

"You're late." Tex growled. He was still in a bad mood from yesterday, in case you haven't noticed.

"Only by thirty minutes…" Ace began.

"That's still late." Tex said crossly.

Ace shrugged. "So, what're we gonna hunt?"

"We're not hunting." Tex said.

"What?" Ace said in a confused tone.

"I said we're not hunting." Tex replied. "What, did you think I was taking you to an open field?"

Ace bit his lip to keep him from answering.

"We're going to the tavern." Tex said.

Ace's heart dropped in his stomach. "The 'tipsy tug tavern'?"

"Naw, the 'happy fun-time tavern'." Tex said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "What do you think?"

"But… I can't go there!" Ace protested.

"Yes you can." Tex said, not really listening to Ace. "All you have to do is swim."

"I don't mean it like that!" Ace said (not adding the word 'ya dummy' for fear of being thrown against the wall again), "You know I can't go in there! As soon as I set a fin in there, I'll be up for grabs!"

"Exactly why I'm taking you there." Tex said with a smirk.

"… You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Ace said.

"Yup." Tex said.

Ace glared at his friend. Then, he thought of something. _'Hold up… I'm a free swordfish! I don't have to go!' _"I don't have to go!" He said suddenly.

"I thought you'd say that." Tex said. "That's why I came up with these two options, since you don't want to go."

"Oh?" Ace asked. "And what are those options?"

"One, you could go to the tavern." Tex said. "Two, you decide not to go, I have to beat you up, and I drag you to the tavern." He smirked at the shocked look on Ace's face and added, "Take your pick."

One Ace's shock had died down, he narrowed his eyes. "I hate you so much right now."

"So… will that be choice one or two?" Tex said, his smirk growing wider.

Ace sighed. "We'll be going in disguise, right?"

"What do you think?" Tex said.

"Let's just go and get this over with."

And so, Tex and Ace set off for the tavern.

_Scene Change_

"Each color stands for something." C.J. was explaining after Ronnie had asked him why she couldn't use his bandanna. "Blue, the color you have one, means that you're a rookie. Rookies with blue bandannas get the easiest jobs; that means that they deliver "messages" to harmless creatures, and transport goods. After blue comes yellow. Yellow means that you work during day hours, and get slightly harder jobs; they still deliver messages and transport goods, but the goods are illegal and there are police officials involved, and the creatures they deliver the messages to are more likely to fight back. If your progress improves, you move up to a green bandanna. Once you get a green bandanna, you never get easy jobs again, unless you have to escort a blue bandanna to his job. Green bandannas work during the night and day and they usually have to carry out more intense death threats to dangerous creatures. They also watch over negotiations, protecting the ones negotiating in case something happens. Other times, they're the ones doing the negotiating."

"What's the white bandanna stand for?" Ronnie asked, looking at C.J. because his bandanna was that color.

"Creatures with white bandannas, like me, don't carry out death threats. They take care of the creatures themselves. However, even though they have to 'take care' of people, they only do that to people between the ages of twenty-one to fifty-five." C.J. said, not really sounding proud about his job. "They rarely work during the daytime; they work around sunset or until eleven' o 'clock. Like all the other bandanna ranks below them, white bandannas work around cities close to Weed City; such as Reef City or Coral City." That was where C.J. stopped.

"So… the white bandanna is the highest rank?" Ronnie asked.

C.J. opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he only looked down at the table. A few seconds later, he said, "Excuse me, I've gotta go somewhere…" and he swam to another table.

"Did I say something?" Ronnie asked Rhea.

"Ronnie, the white bandanna isn't the highest rank." Rhea said.

"Then what is the highest rank?" Ronnie asked.

Rhea sighed. "You may not know this, but most of the squad members here aren't happy about what they have to do. Almost everyone you see here was forced to do this work."

"Almost everyone?" Ronnie asked.

Rhea growled. "There are a choice few."

Ronnie glanced around the tavern, wondering who the choice few were.

"I see that you're looking around the tavern." Rhea said. "What colored bandannas did you see?"

"Hmm… green, blue, yellow, white; all the colors C.J. mentioned." Ronnie replied.

"You'll find out why there aren't any other colors." Rhea said. "The highest ranks are red and black."

Ronnie didn't know why, but she felt a shiver run up her spine after Rhea said that.

"Red," Rhea continued, "stands for blood. I won't go into detail about their jobs because they're so horrible, and I also think the color description describes itself. Black, well, it doesn't stand for anything. However, only the darkest hearted, ruthless, and cold-blooded killers wear that colored bandanna; they're even more vicious than the ones wearing the red bandannas. Unlike the ones wearing the white bandannas, who have an age limit, the red and black bandannas don't have age limits. They… they'll take out anybody, even little kids and old people."

Ronnie resisted the urge to gasp, cry, or say anything at all for that matter.

"What's worse are the hours they work." Rhea said angrily. "They don't want to get caught, so they work from twelve to four in the morning. If they do get caught, they take out the police officials too, or anyone else who tries to get in their way. That's why C.J. didn't want to talk about that. Lamont was considering moving him up to that rank. Only a few creatures have that rank…"

"And there goes one of them right now." C.J. growled. He had returned to where Ronnie and Rhea sat after a small fight had broken out at the table he was sitting at.

All eyes turned to the doors as they swung shut. Ace and Tex swam through the tavern, looking for seats that weren't already taken. Unfortunately, the only seats available were all the way on the other side of the tavern. That meant that Ace had to swim past all those angry hit squad members.

"Hey!" An anglerfish shouted. "There's the guy that messed up my lure! My light hasn't glowed since!"

"And there's the guy who kept calling me 'Free Willy!'" A killer whale added.

"And there's the guy who stole my girlfriend, broke her heart, and took the money for me mum's operation!" A Mako shouted.

"He did?" Everybody said.

"No, but I'm not gonna float around while he plans on doing it!" The Mako said. He began to throw balled up napkins at ace. At first, Ace didn't notice it; but after that, everyone in the tavern was throwing napkin balls at him, and that hurts. (They took care not to hit Tex; they were all his friends.) Even after Ace and Tex had sat down, the napkin balls were still flying. (Even Ronnie was throwing napkin balls at him; if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?)

"Will you guys cut it out?" Ace finally shouted.

"Cut it out?" An electric eel shouted across the room. "You put us through all sorts of hell, and when we throw napkin balls; _napkin balls _I say, you want us to cut it out?" The electric eel threw another napkin ball at Ace. (Rhea had a WHOLE back room full of napkins; the hit squad wouldn't be running out of ammo anytime soon.)

"And all this time, you had us thinking you were a tough guy." A shark said, throwing another napkin ball at Ace. "Not so much of a tough guy now, are ya?"

"Aww c'mon you guys." Tex said. "He had a bad night yesterday?"

This caused the whole tavern to fill with voices.

"A bad night?" A moray eel said. "One bad night? Please! We have bad nights every day of our lives since we've came here, mostly because of Ace!"

"Why's the little guppy mourning over one bad night?" A killer whale said.

"I think Ace can answer that." Tex said. "Ace, why don't you tell everybody what happened?"

Ace gave Tex a death glare, and Tex only gave him the 'choice one choice two' look. Ace sighed and mumbled something incoherent.

"Say it nice and loud so everybody can hear you." Tex said. "And stand up too. It projects your voice."

Ace grumbled something and stood up. "Lamont threw me against a wall and said that he didn't really care about the fact that I was his right hand swordfish."

Silence hung in the air. Mouth were wide open. Long story short, everyone was shocked.

"What did you say?" A shark said.

"I said that Lamont was just using me to get his jobs done." Ace said.

The long silence came again. A few seconds later, the room erupted with laughter. Many of the hit squad fell on the floor with laughter, or had tears flowing out of her eyes. Even Rhea and C.J. were laughing. Ronnie was the only one who wasn't laughing, as she didn't find anything funny in the matter.

"What's so funny?" Ace said angrily.

"We didn't know you could be that oblivious!" A barracuda said.

"Of course he was just using you! Everybody knew that!" A lantern fish said.

"We thought that you knew that too!" An orca added. "We thought that the only reason you stuck around was because the pay was good!"

"And now we know the truth. That is so sad." A swordfish said, taking off his hat. "Please, people, let us have a moment of silence." There was a few seconds of silence before the swordfish said again, "And now let us laugh at this fool."

The tavern shook with laughter again. Tex was trying to hide his laughter behind a fin. Key word here is 'trying.' Ace noticed this, which only made his face turn redder and his temper boil hotter. Through all the laughing, Ace was somehow able to think clearly, and an idea popped in his mind. A calm, serene look appeared on his face, but an evil smirk betrayed that look.

"That's why I've got news on Lenny."

The whole room grew silent again. All eyes turned to Ace; especially Ronnie.

"Lenny?" An orca said. "You mean the guy that ran off from his date with Carlotta?"

"Yup." Ace said with his evil smirk.

"Aww man," A swordfish chuckled, "I wish I could've been there to see the angry look on Carlotta's face. That would've been priceless."

"Especially since I heard that his girlfriend came back, and boy, was she mad." A shark added. "I heard she knocked her nose clean off!"

Ronnie couldn't help but smile. _'Actually, I only broke her nose, but hey, if they wanna think that, let them.' _Rhea and C.J. stared at Ronnie with surprised expressions. They knew she had punched Carlotta, but they didn't know she had broken her nose!

'_You go girl.' _C.J. thought.

"It's a good thing Carlotta can't fight." A barracuda said. "Otherwise, the fight would've been longer, and I bet Lenny's friend would've won."

'_Damn right I would've won.' _Ronnie thought, still smiling. She wasn't going to say that out loud though; it would draw attention to herself and she didn't want to sound conceited.

"I heard that Lenny was shot and able to give Lamont's boys the slip by hiding in the shadows." A shark said. "They say you can swim right by him and not even know he's there."

At that comment, C.J., Rhea, and Ronnie all rolled their eyes. They were all thinking, _'Now how stupid is that?'_

But the other hit squad members only said "Cool."

"Oh really?" Ace said. "Well, did you hear about how he's about to get killed and I offered to help?"

Right away, Ace knew he had said the wrong thing. Ronnie growled, "You have five seconds… to get out of here… before I 'offer' to help you get out."

Ace looked around and saw that the looks on the other hit squads' face said the same thing; some faces even said an even scarier threat. Ace looked at Tex; Tex's face was the only face without a threat. His expression said, 'you brought this on yourself bro.'

"You know… I was only joking…" Ace began.

"Five." Ronnie said.

"I didn't really mean it…" Ace said.

"Four." Ronnie growled.

"You don't have to count…" Ace said, beginning to get scared.

"Three." Ronnie counted.

"Dude, I'd get outta here before she kicks your butt." A shark said. "Or better yet, before we do something to ya."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Ace said.

The shark looked at Ronnie and said, "May I?"

Ronnie shrugged. "Be my guest."

"Two." The shark said.

"Oh, so now you're counting?" Ace said. "Who else is gonna count?"

Every hit squad member smirked and said, "One." After saying one, they all got up and swam towards Ace.

"Heh…" Ace chuckled nervously. "I guess I should be going now…"

"Oh, it's too late for that." A barracuda said. "That sharkess over there warned you."

Ace looked around as the mob of hit creatures closed in on him. "Hey, uh… what're you guys gonna do?"

"Nothing we'll regret, that's for sure." A killer whale said.

In less than a second, everyone began beating up Ace. Tex shook his head as he watched his friend (if you can call him a friend) get pounded by the hit squad. He then looked at Ronnie, and a thought flashed through his mind. _'She looks familiar…'_

Rhea, Ronnie, and C.J. were watching too. After a few seconds, Ronnie said,

"Hey, do you guys know where the drinks and popcorn are?"

If she was going to watch Ace get beaten up, she was going to watch him get beaten up with refreshments.

_Scene Change_

Ace and Tex had just gotten back from the tavern. Tex was sipping on a drink he had taken with him, and Ace was trying to find some way to distract himself from the pain. He had received many "presents" that night, courtesy of the hit squad members. One of the many "gifts" he had received was a black eye, and the rest were only bruises and a bloody nose. Ace was, putting it lightly, mad; and what Tex said didn't make him feel any better.

"You should've kept your mouth shut." Tex said.

"You think I don't know that?" Ace snapped. "I was taught that a few minutes ago! Look at what they did to me! Man, will I be feeling sore on the morning."

"You know… there is a way for you to get the favor of everybody…" Tex hinted in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, shut up!" Ace said.

"Aww, come on Ace." Tex said with an annoying smile. "You know you want to…"

"No." Ace said.

Tex shrugged. "Fine. But you know, in addition to getting the squad's favor, you can also get revenge on Lamont…"

Ace thought about what Tex said for a moment. "Keep talkin'."

"So, you're in?" Tex asked.

"I'm only 'in' if you tell me what you want me to do first." Ace said.

"Well, here's what you gotta do…" Tex began.

And so, a plan was made…

_Scene Change_

Lenny woke up, looking around. The lamp was on, and stars were out outside.

'_Well that's weird. I could've sworn I woke up around seven in the morning…' _A confused Lenny thought. _'And after that, one of those nurses came in my room…'_

Realization hit Lenny as he found out what had happened.

'_They put me to sleep with one of those shots!' _Lenny thought. _'They better not have stolen my kidney…'_

Just then, the doctor swam in the room.

"So, how're you feeling?" She asked.

"You put me to sleep with one of those shots." Lenny said.

"Well, sorry about that, but it's in the job description." The doctor said. "Once again, how're you feeling?"

"Hmm… pretty good I guess." Lenny said.

"Well then, you can go home." The doctor said.

"What?" Lenny said in confusion. "But… I was shot!"

"Yes, but the shot wasn't a direct hit." The doctor said.

"So… I didn't have to go to the hospital?" Lenny asked.

"It doesn't matter if the bullet only grazes you." The doctor said. "There's a chance that you can get an infection, and that's exactly what you had. After we took care of that problem, there was nothing else to do. So, you're pretty much okay."

"So… I can go home now?" Lenny said happily.

"That's what I said." The doctor said with a smile.

"That's great! I guess I'll be going now." Lenny got out of bed and swam towards the door when he remembered something. "Hey… are you sure you're not charging me? 'Cause I can pay ya know…"

"Like I said, don't worry about it." The doctor said. "It's the least I could do after you helped my brother out."

"I helped your brother out?" Lenny said.

The doctor smiled and pulled a picture from behind her. "I'm sure you can remember this guy." She said as she handed the picture to Lenny.

Lenny studied the picture. "Hey… this is Mr. Scott!"

"Yup." The doctor said with a smile. "I heard about the way you gave them a tip to move away some place. That was nice."

"Yeah well…" Lenny said, "It's what I do."

"I see." The doctor said. "Do you need a phone?"

Lenny thought about it for a moment before saying, "Yes. I've gotta call somebody…"

"Well, you can use my cell phone. Just be sure to give it back when you're done." The doctor said. She handed him the cell phone and swam out the door.

Once the doctor had left the room, Lenny dialed a number. A few seconds later, somebody on the other line picked up.

"Hello… oh, hi Ronnie. Yeah, I'm all right…" Lenny said. "Listen… do you know when the next whale shark leaves for Coral City? Uh-huh… so one leaves at ten and the other leaves at eleven-thirty? Great… do you think we could make the one at ten? That's right, I got out the hospital! It turns out that the wound wasn't as serious as everyone thought. You wanna say good-bye to everyone? C.J. and Rhea should be at the tavern cleaning everything up… okay, so I'll meet you there, alright? Bye." Lenny hung up and looked at the phone. _'Hey… this is a nice phone…'_

"Ahem."

Lenny looked up. The doctor was floating at the doorway.

"Can I have my phone now that you're done?" The doctor asked.

"Oh, uh… sure." Lenny said, handing the phone to the doctor. "I'll just be going now." And so, Lenny swam out the door, heading for the tavern.

_Scene Change_

Ronnie swam into the tavern and looked around. She had never seen it so empty before. Of course, she had just seen it an hour ago, but still…

There was no sign of Rhea or C.J., only a drunk eel slouching in his seat.

"Okay buddy, you have to go." Rhea said as she swam over to the eel.

"I don't think I can." The eel said. "My stomach hurts."

"Well, I guess that teaches you not to drink whole bottles of vodka while I'm not looking, doesn't it?" Rhea said. "Now, go home."

The eel grumbled something and swam out the doors. Just then, C.J. came and swam beside Rhea, shaking his head.

"I hope the poor guy doesn't get a job tomorrow." He said. "He'll be cursed with a hangover the size of Asia."

"It's not the first time." Rhea said. "I think he'll be used to it."

"You think he'll be used to it?" C.J. asked. "How many times has this happened?"

"Hmm… if I estimate correctly, it should be around twenty times." Rhea said. C.J. stared at her in disbelief. "It's true." She added.

"Yeah right…" C.J. said, but noticed they weren't alone. "Hey, look! It's Ronnie!"

Ronnie waved. "It's about time you guys noticed me."

"What're you doing here?" Rhea said. "I thought you went back to that hotel."

Ronnie put on a dramatic act and said, "I've come to say good bye."

There was a long silence before C.J. said, "Good bye?"

"Yes," Ronnie said dramatically. "Good bye."

C.J. stared at Ronnie before saying, "Ronnie… c'mere. Sit down next to me."

Ronnie gave C.J. a weird look before sitting down.

"Now, listen." C.J. said. "I know that some things in your life may not be going well, but… that doesn't mean you should jump off a bridge."

"Jump off a bridge!" Ronnie shouted, jumping up. "What made you think I was gonna do that?"

"Well, you did say you were coming to say 'good-bye.'" C.J. said. "And last night, I saw this movie where they had this guy who jumped off a bridge."

"C.J, that was a movie." Rhea said. "It also had flying vampires and polite businessmen."

"Yeah, well," C.J. said, "It was real to me."

Ronnie rolled her eyes. "I came to say bye because…"

Just then, Lenny swam in the door.

"Hey Lenny." C.J. said casually. "I just saved Ronnie from jumping off a bridge."

"What!" Lenny said.

"I was saying bye to Rhea and C.J." Ronnie said. "I was just about to explain that we were going back home when you swam in."

"You're going back home?" Rhea said.

"Yeah." Lenny said. "We'll miss you guys and everything, but we've gotta get back…"

"No, it's not that I'm talking about! We can always get your number and call!" Rhea said. "Lenny, you can't go! Once you're a part of the hit squad, you can never go home!"

"She's right ya know." C.J. said. "You remember what Lamont said to you on your first day here? You remember what happened no too long ago? Those things have to have stuck in your mind by now."

"Yeah, well, another thing's stuck in my mind too." Lenny said. "The fact that I've gotta go home."

"But Lenny," C.J. said, "nobody's ever ran away from here and lived! Lamont's boys chased them down before they could even think about running away!"

"Well then," Lenny said, "I guess I'll be the first to get away, huh?"

C.J. stared at Lenny before saying, "You… are a brave shark my friend."

"Thank you." Lenny said with a smile.

"But then again, you're also crazy." C.J. added.

Lenny thought for a moment before saying, "Most brave sharks were called crazy. I'm guess I'm one of those sharks."

"So, when're you leaving?" Rhea asked.

"We should be going at ten." Ronnie said. "That's when the whale shark should be coming."

C.J. looked at the clock on the wall. "It's nine-forty. Where's the whale shark supposed to be?"

"The schedule said he'd be somewhere in the front outskirts of the city." Ronnie said.

"Hmm… that's a five to ten minute swim. You guys better hurry." Rhea said.

"All right, we'll see you guys again one day." Lenny said. "Trust me; familiar faces have a habit of popping up when I least expect it."

"Bye then." C.J. said. "We'll miss you guys."

"So will we." Lenny said.

"You'll keep in touch, right?" Rhea said. "'Cause if I don't get any letters or phone calls from you guys, I'll personally track you down myself."

Ronnie laughed. "We'll try our best."

And so, after a few more farewells, Ronnie and Lenny set off for the front outskirts. They were making great time, when suddenly, Lenny remembered something.

'_The present! I left it at the apartment!' _"Ronnie, hold up! I forgot something!" Lenny said quickly.

"But we're almost there…" Ronnie began.

"It'll only take me a few seconds!" Lenny said. "I promise."

Ronnie stared at Lenny. "Is it important?"

"You have no idea." Lenny said.

"Well, go get it then!" Ronnie said with a smile.

Lenny nodded and swam off in the direction of the apartment he and C.J. stayed at. Unfortunately, trouble was lurking behind every corner…

_Scene Change_

Lenny swam in his room and picked up the present. He was surprised to see that it was still in mint condition. It was as if he had just brought it a few minutes ago.

'_Perfect.' _Lenny thought with a smile as he swam outside. He was halfway to the outskirts. All he had to do was swim through a rather large alley when…

"Leaving so soon?"

Lenny turned around to see Lamont floating in front of him, holding a gun.

"Lamont." Lenny growled.

"I thought you might be leaving." Lamont said. "Too bad you won't be getting out alive…"

Lamont struck Lenny with the side of his gun, sending him reeling. He was just about to shoot him when he noticed something glimmer in the sand.

"What's this?" Lamont said, swimming over to the object.

"Don't touch that!" Lenny said, struggling to get up.

"You shut-up." Lamont said, pointing his gun threateningly at Lenny. He picked up the object; it was Ronnie's birthday present. "A present. How nice." He studied it carefully. "It's in mint condition too; perfectly wrapped and everything. You must've been planning on giving this to someone special. It would be really messed up if someone was to open this…" Lamont put a fin on top of the wrapping, as if he was going to open it.

"No!" Lenny shouted, getting up. "It's not yours!"

"And whose is it?" Lamont said. "Like I care if it doesn't belong to me. And why do yo care so much about it? By the way you're protecting it, it must belong to someone special." Lamont saw Lenny's face turn from angry to shocked, and he knew he was right. "So it does belong to someone special. Who is it, Lenny? I'm guessing… it's that sharkess waiting by the outskirts. Am I right?"

"You shut-up." Lenny said angrily.

"So I am right." Lamont said with a taunting smile. Seeing Lenny angry only made him want to continue. "How important is she to you, exactly? You have to be more than friends… lovers, perhaps?" He began circling Lenny. "She's pretty too. It would be a shame if anything was to happen to her…"

"You better not touch her."

Lamont was shocked, probably for the first time in his life. If it was possible, he could've seen the venom dripping from Lenny's voice, and the anger radiating from him. However, he had a reputation to uphold, and didn't show any trace of shock.

"So she is important." Lamont said, still circling Lenny. "Now tell me, is she as important to you as Rhea and C.J. are? I've heard that you guys are friends."

Lamont was expecting Lenny to say, "What're you going to do to them" or "please, leave them alone," but all he got was,

"I swear to God, if you don't stop circling me…"

"Oh? So you've made a threat? What're you gonna do if I don't stop circling you huh?" Lamont said. Once again, he hit Lenny with his gun. "Nothing, that's what."

Suddenly, Lenny snatched the gun from Lamont's fin. His grip wasn't tight, however, so it skidded across the sand. He tried to get up and retrieve it, but was stopped by a switchblade to his throat.

"All out of ideas now, aren't we?" Lamont said evilly. "You know… this is really pitiful. I expected more of a fight out of you."

"I wouldn't be calling anyone pitiful if I were you." Lenny said, breathing heavily. "You define the word pitiful."

"Shut-up!" Lamont said, punching him. When he had done that, the present had dropped a few feet away from where Lenny was.

Lenny tried to reach the present, but didn't have the strength.

"And don't worry," Lamont said with a cruel smile, "I'll take good care of the present… and the girl."

It was at this moment that something inside Lenny had snapped. That last strand of whatever was keeping him from getting truly angry had broken. It was too much; first, his friend had gotten him kicked out of his home, then that Markie guy had started to stir up trouble, then he thought Ronnie had died, then he had almost died of hunger after he had killed Markie and was looking for another place to go, but that's not even the worst part because Markie was his best friend's cousin! And when somebody had finally taken him somewhere, it turned out that he was in the worst city of all, and the creature who had "saved" him was a spoiled hit squad boss's daughter and he had to either work for the guy or die, then he was forced to go out on a date with the girl, who had shot him, and just when things were starting to get better, he ends up on the ground with a knife at his throat! All that anger and other bad feelings felt like they had to be vented out on someone; and Lamont just happened to be that someone.

Growling, Lenny snatched the blade away from Lamont, surprising him. He slowly swam towards the trembling hit squad boss, making him back up into the alley wall.

"Not so tough without your blade, are you?" Lenny said in the coldest voice imaginable.

"P-please, get away from me!" Lamont said in a deathly terrified voice.

"Getting scared are we?" Lenny said, rotating the blade in his fin.

"W-wha-what are you g-gonna do with that?" Lamont stuttered, trying to keep himself from shaking in terror.

Lenny smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile though; it was a smile that made you want to run for your life. "Why Lamont, what do you think I'm going to do with this?" He said in a sweet voice. Anybody would know that there was a threat behind that sweet tone.

"You know… we could work this out!" Lamont said quickly, trying to talk his way out of the mess he had created. "I could give you anything you wanted, o-or give you some clams… ARGH!"

Lenny had slashed him with the knife, cutting him off. "Oh shut up! You actually think you can bribe me?" He stared at the whimpering Lamont on the floor, shaking his head. A mocking grin spread over his face. "You know… this is really pathetic. I expected more of a fight out of you." That quote made Lamont look up. "Of course," Lenny added, placing the blade on Lamont's shoulder and making him flinch, "we can't always get what we want. I mean, after all, you wanted me dead, and here I am, still floating here."

"Yeah, that kind of is funny…" Lamont began, but once again, he was cut by the blade.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Lenny shouted. "Jeez, and you wonder why you're in this mess!"

Lamont had thrown sand at Lenny, aiming for his eye, but unfortunately for him, he had missed, which only made Lenny angrier.

"Oh, so you decide to throw sand at me?" Lenny said angrily. "Well you wanna know what I do to creatures who throw sand at me?" He ripped a chunk out of Lamont's dorsal fin. "That's what I do."

Gasping with pain, Lamont managed to say, "Is that the best you can do?" In a few seconds, he would find out that he should've kept his mouth shut; the last thing he would ever find out.

Just then, Lenny had ripped off the whole dorsal fin, and blood had splattered against the wall. All his pent up fury was unleashed on the now ripped up hit squad boss. Chunks of flesh flew everywhere as Lenny tore into Lamont as if he was a fish at a feeding frenzy. Lamont didn't even have time to scream. In less than a few seconds later, blood filled the once clear water and colored the once white sand.

"No, that's the best I can do." Lenny growled.

Lamont was dead. There was no evidence to prove that Lenny had killed him; he was torn apart and ripped to shreds. There was no trace of the boss, except for a few shreds of remaining skin and the tip of his (shredded) dorsal fin. Lamont wasn't just dead; he was _gone_.

_Scene Change_

Ronnie waited for Lenny at the outskirts. The whale shark had come five minutes ago, and left three seconds ago. He had a tight schedule, and had to pick up other on-time fish.

"Where the heck is he?" Ronnie grumbled.

"He might be in trouble."

Ronnie turned around to see Ace. Tex wasn't with him this time.

"Hey, aren't you that guy who everybody beat up?" Ronnie said with a smile.

"Yeah, could you forget about that for a second?" Ace said. "Look, Lamont's gonna try to kill Lenny, so I suggest you try to find him."

Ronnie looked surprised for a second, but then said, "How do I know I can trust you? After all, you volunteered to help kill him."

Ace sighed. "I don't expect you to trust me, but when somebody gives you information like this, the least you can do is listen."

'_Hmm… he's got a point.' _"All right, but if I find out that you're lying, I'll do ten times the damage of what any hit shark could do to you."

Ace grimaced. "Fair enough."

"So, do you know where I can find him?" Ronnie said.

"Uh… no." Ace said. "But he should be around here…"

"Oh well. Thanks anyway!" Ronnie said as she swam towards the city.

Before Ronnie was too far away, Ace shouted, "Hey! Was it true that you punched Carlotta in the nose?"

Ronnie turned around and shouted, "You bet I did!"

Ace chuckled and swam towards Lamont's ship. Hopefully, Carlotta was there, because he was looking forward to bothering her with that question…

_Scene Change_

Lenny took the bandanna from around his neck and wiped his mouth. In a quick second, his bandanna changed from blue to dark red. He was about to put it back on when he remembered what was on it. He threw the bandanna on the ground, and covered it with sand. A part of him wanted to keep the bandanna and wash it later, and the other part knew that the bandanna contained evidence and didn't want anyone to find out what had happened. He was still angry, but not angry enough to want to squeeze the life out of someone. Suddenly, he realized something.

'_I'll be late for the whale shark!' _Lenny began to swim off in a hurry, but he noticed something. His fins were red. Picking up sand, he rubbed the blood off them, and ignored the stinging he felt. He looked at his fins and saw that there was a diagonal shaped cut on them. It had to have been made by teeth; Lamont must've bitten him somehow. Lenny didn't even notice until now.

'_Stupid Lamont…that's what he gets…' _Lenny thought, but his thoughts changed in a heartbeat.

Lenny's anger changed to shock in a heartbeat. He suddenly realized what he had done, and tried his best not to gag at the metallic smell.

'_Aww man… I did all of that… things can't possibly get any worse…'_

"Hey Lenny, what took you so long? The whale shark already came and, oh my god…"

Lenny turned around to see a shocked Ronnie. _'Okay… so things can get worse…'_

_TBC…_

_Aww, Oscar apologized to Angie… and Ace was thrown against a wall? Tex could get angry? Ronnie caught Lenny in the killing? Hmm… I wonder what she'll say now… only one way to find out, and that's to stick around for the next chappie!_

_And yes, I know that male anglerfish don't have lures, but I wanted that to fit in the story, so… yeah._

_And voices have been added to characters, as well as changed. Ricky's voice has been changed for the millionth time, but it's staying like that… I hope._

_R&R pleez! _


End file.
